


Pollen

by SuperMehr



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Barbara Gordon is a mom, Bruce Wayne is Batman, But isn't she always stressed out?, But maybe astrous for a certain someone, Cute Kids, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Drama, F/M, Family Secrets, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy on the dis for her, Humor, Mystery, Panic Attacks, Poison Ivy's Pheromones, She probably finds this disastrous, Stressed out Batgirl, Tim Drake is Robin, Time Jump, Wally West is Alive, alternate season 3, for now, fun times, unknown father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperMehr/pseuds/SuperMehr
Summary: Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, decided to take a break. She claims for college and education, but others think against it. She disappeared, covering her every step. The question is why? What does it have to do with four little feet and pollen? What makes this pollen so dangerous that it caused the redhead to go into hiding for practically five years?This is a story about a new family, pollen, and a supposedly unknown father. Who would have thought that Ivy's pollen could lead to something so 'astrous? Though from the looks of the teams and Nightwing, it doesn't seem that way… at least not yet.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson
Comments: 58
Kudos: 49





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> It's been a while since I posted anything anywhere. I hope you all enjoy this story! This story is a repost from Fanfic I wrote, and I am currently re-editing. Enjoy!
> 
> Let me know what you think :)

_ **BGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBGBG** _

_ Recognized Batgirl B16 _

Confused voices erupted in the mountain as heads turned to the new arrival. "Batgirl!" M'gaan screamed flying to the female bat, crushing her in a hug. "It's been so long!" The other ladies on the team excitedly followed Miss Martian.

"It's been a while,"Artemis said as she hugged Batgirl.

"It really has been," the redhead replied with a soft smile before being interrupted by Batman clearing his throat. That was when Batgirl noticed that almost all of the Young Justice team and Justice Leaguers were in the room. It felt so strange for her to be back. 

As the girls walked back to the center of the room, Batgirl felt that things looked the same.  _ Still the same, yet somehow a little different. _ She chuckled a little.  _ Did the zeta-tubes always take that long to power down? _

"Batgirl," Batman said with a nod.

"Batman," she greeted back.

"BG," Nightwing and Robin came up to her. "Long time no see," Nightwing said with a smirk. She gave them a small smile, but Nightwing saw something shift in her eyes. It was strange, but he couldn’t place it.

She turned back to Batman, "I'm sorry I'm late. Thank you for gathering everybody."

"Wait, Batgirl, you called this meeting?" She nodded and went to stand next to Batman.

"I'm sure Batman must have informed you all about this gathering. A while ago, Batman contacted me about Poison Ivy."

"Ivy? Didn’t we put her in Arkham after one of your last missions with us before you went on that break?" Robin asked, catching himself from saying anything about her ‘abandoning’ the team.

"That mission was five years ago, wasn't it?" M'gaan shifted her weight.

"We didn't find anything. All we did was turn her into the police," Cassie added.

"Back then, we didn't. During the mission, we all split up into three different groups. Alpha went straight in, Beta through the back, and the last squad stayed outside for back up," Batgirl started to explain.

"Yeah. You were a part of Beta along with me and Robin," Nightwing’s hand moved to his chin in thought.

"The only things we found in the back were more plants," Robin crossed his arms.

"True, but while we were there, we did manage to get a sample of a plant. This sample had the fertilizer and the pollen along with it," Batgirl tried to keep explaining, but was interrupted again by the speedster from the future. 

"So? It's pollen, every plant has pollen and fertilizer."

"I agree with Bart, I don't see any need for this meeting," Superboy hmphed, looking bored out of his mind.

"Batgirl," Batman said, "continue."

"It's not just about the pollen, it's what the pollen can do." Everybody looked confused. Batgirl went up to the computer and pulled up pictures from the mission from so many years ago. She stopped at a picture Robin had taken of a bunch of plants. "This isn't normal pollen."

"None of Ivy's pollens are normal," Nightwing inserted.

"After some research, I found out that when a human inhales this pollen, it mixes into their bloodstream increasing one's hormones." Everybody still seemed confused, but leaned in as she continued. "Including sexual." The younger members blushed a little. Batgirl knew she was getting to the point a lot faster than she should have, but she also knew she had to get home quick. "Thus increasing pregnancies."

"Okay? What's wrong with that?" Flash raised an eyebrow.

Batgirl let out a silent sigh. "If this pollen gets let out into cities, it can cause major problems. Not only can it ruin relationships, but also shift the population." She bit her lip. "But that's not the worst part though." She zoomed into the plants. "It's the actual child that would be born. After clouding the victims minds, the pollen is still in the bloodstream when 'certain things' happen. Meaning that the pollen gets mixed into the baby's bloodstream as well. Somehow the pollen enhances factors in the baby's DNA. Not only does the baby obtain genes from the parents, but the genes, physical abilities, and emotions, become twice as strong, give or take a few errors." This seemed to catch everybody's attention. "For example, think of any type of sport. Say one parent played on their college soccer team, their child will most likely play at a professional level by the time they're in high school. But what if both parents are amazing at the sport? The child would be an expert, potentially surpassing world cup players. Expected to be five times better at it than both parents, possibly even combined."

"Cool," Bart actually looked excited about the child.

"In some cases sure, but in many others, no," Batgirl replied hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, say for example Joker and Harley Quinn. They have an on-again, off-again relationship. If they had a child..."

"Joker would never let that happen," Robin's face scrunched up, trying to understand what the redhead was saying.

"True, but if he knew about the enhancements in the child, there is a high chance he would take advantage of the situation. I'm only using him as an example _ , _ Rob.” BG bit her lip again. “Okay, so, Joker is extremely crazy and so is Harley. Put the two together, and you will create a child who will be five times as crazy and would most likely kill anybody they see. Plus the child would most likely kill their own parents." More people started to catch onto what Batgirl was saying. "Now, say this happens with two people in the league or the team, this will most likely ruin friendships. It will also create an extremely powerful child. With all the enhancing and things, the child will be harder to control and watch over. And without control, it would be easy to 'cross the line'."

"'Cross the line?'" Jamie pipped up.

"Meaning to kill someone," Robin clarified.

"Okay, I get some of it now, but," Artemis’s gaze fell on Batgirl, "why do you know all of this information?"

"What do you mean, Artemis?" M'gaan asked.

"You obviously can't find all this information from researching. It seems like it was given by someone. Unless, Batgirl..." Artemis let the name fall into a whisper, as everybody heard crackles of laughter from above. 

Batgirl's eyes widened as the team moved into a defensive position.  _ This is not good. If they were to pop out, the whole team would attack.  _ She hid a smile,  _ though, they do have interesting timing. _

And that was almost exactly what happened. The team’s eyes sharpened on the shadows as they saw two figures rush through the darkness. The team stayed on the defense facing the darkened area, not taking in their surroundings. They probably assumed someone next to them had that covered. Honestly, a rookie mistake. It was your classic ambulance situation. Everyone assumes that someone else will call 911.

Batgirl noticed this. To save them she had to do something. She quietly pulls out her gas pellets and rolls them into the darkness. Nightwing, however, sees it all happen. The female redhead’s feet move on their own as they rush into the black to grab the troublemakers. The gas pellets explode, sending confetti and smoke into the air. Nightwing's eyes widen. Team members were coughing and trying to get a hold of their surroundings as the wispy clouds started to clear out. 

"M'gaan!" Nightwing called out. With a motion of her hand, M'gaan mentally picked up the figures that were in the confetti and gas, pushing them up against the wall. "M'gaan, don't let them go no matter what."

Up against the solid rocks were three figures, including Batgirl. Next to her were two children, one boy and one girl, both no older than five. Honestly, they almost looked doll-like. The children were wearing domino eye masks and hoods to hide their hair and eyes. Batgirl blinked a few times and shook her head trying to get rid of the dizziness.

"Barbara?" M'gaan asked.

"Keep her there M'gaan, we don't know what's going on," Nightwing cautiously moved forward.

Batgirl blinked a few times more. Her eyes widened. She looked to her right and saw nothing, then to her left. The children were being held up against the wall with her, but both seemed to be knocked out.  _ M'gaan must have thought that the intruders were bigger and put more force into it.  _ Batgirl started squirming. She kept her face straight and emotionless, but tried to reach out to them. She had to see if they were still breathing. Their lack of motion alarmed the female. Her eyes whipped back to M'gaan. The team could see multiple emotions run through them. 

The female bat took a deep breath, "M'gaan, please, slowly put them on the ground." Megan stared into Batgirl's eyes. The white martian could feel so many emotions rolling off of her close friend. "Please, M'gaan." M'gaan nodded and did as she was told. The children were put gently on the ground. 

Black Canary made the first move with Green Arrow following her. She picked up the girl and checked to make sure she was alright. Green Arrow did the same with the boy. Canary and Arrow looked at each other then back to Barbara. "They're alright, it seems as if they only passed out in shock," Canary cradled the little girl in her arms. Batgirl let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

"Yeah, from the looks of it though, it seemed as if they were trained to take a hit from a wall. They moved their heads in a way that would minimize the chance to get a concussion," Green Arrow added while getting up with the boy still in his arms. He shifted his hand to the boy’s mask. 

"Stop! Please don't," Batgirl whispered the last part. Green Arrow looked at the bat, then dropped his hand.

Everybody was quiet, and looked between the children and Batgirl. Batgirl’s worried eyes were locked on the kids. Some of the members walked up to Canary and Arrow to get a better look. M'gaan was about to put Batgirl down when Nightwing put his arm out to stop her. "No, don't put her down yet." Nightwing looked at the redhead on the wall, "she might try to escape without explaining anything." Batgirl ignored Nightwing. At the moment her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.

"Batgirl, who are they?" Beast Boy asked. Everybody looked up at the female bat, waiting to hear. 

"Well, they are clearly children," she stated bluntly.

"Umm, but..."

"Wait," everybody looked towards Artemis, "wait. Thinking back to what you said. You know a whole lot of information about the pollen..."  _ Now they all listen _ . Barbara smiled softly.

"You come back once we hear about Ivy again..." Robin added.

"It's been five years since you left, and the kids look..." Artemis’s sentence trailed off.

"Like they are four or five," Nightwing finished while staring at Batgirl, whose gaze had shifted to him. The redhead said nothing, but she did notice movement from the corner of her eye. She looked at the little girl who was about to wake up. The other members followed her line of sight.

The little girl opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She let out a yawn and rubbed the sleep/shock, out of her eyes. That's when she realized she was in someone's arms. She looked at the person who was carrying her, and stared into Canary's eyes. Canary saw that the girl was a little shocked and confused. The little girl's confused, watered eyes shifted around looking for something until her eyes landed on Batgirl. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Batgirl beat her to it. "Shhh… we’re all calm here. You should know all these people, and how friendly they can be. No one is going to hurt you or me. Okay?" That seemed to pacify the girl, but she was still confused. 

"But, mommy,” the air was sucked from the room, “they have you pinned up against a wall. I… I don’t think that’s what friends do?" Barbara opened her mouth to answer, but in honesty, she wasn’t too sure how to respond. The members in the room started whispering, getting louder with each word.

"Seriously, who are they!?" Bart shouted. Wrong move. The little boy opened his eyes, jumped out of the arms carrying him, and knocked Arrow to the ground. He ran over to Canary and slightly shoved her off balance. Canary's grip on the girl loosened, thus making it easier for the boy to grab the little girl. He then protectively pushed the girl behind him, grabbed something from his pockets, and started backing up.

"Stop right there." That voice made him pause dead in his tracks. He looked up at the wall. Eyes widened in recognition. "Didn't I tell you guys to stay with Agent A? Why on earth would you follow me here? You guys know the whole situation." They didn’t answer. It actually looked like they were trying to shrink away. Barbara let out a sigh, "we can talk about it later then."

Batgirl almost forgot that they had an audience watching them. She let out another sigh and looked at the rest of the team. "M'gaan, would you mind letting me down, please." Nightwing didn't stop the martian as she let Batgirl fall to the ground. 

The female bat landed perfectly. The team could hear the redhead mumbling under her breath with each step towards the children, "first you switch my gas pellets to your confetti ones, then you run away from Agent A, break into the cave's security to get access to the zeta-tubes,  _ and _ cause this whole mess." Batgirl shook her head once she got closer to them. 

She bent down on her knees, causing her to be eye level with the kids. Her eyes softened, "are you guys okay?" They nodded, "good, then let's go." She stood up and motioned them to follow her. When they didn't, Batgirl went back, picked the girl up, and grabbed the boy's hand. Together they headed towards the zeta-tubes. "I apologize about this Batman, but I gave you all the information I could at the moment. And I gave you reasons why this mission should be a priority. You can decide the next move, but for now I need to go. You know how to contact me. I’m sure I’ll see you all around." And with that last note, Batgirl pushed some buttons outside the zeta-tubes allowing the trio to walk through the tubes together.

_ Recognized Batgirl B16, Guest 1, Guest 2 _

Everybody stared after them, with thoughts of what Batgirl has gone through in the past five years. "What just happened?" Nightwing asked both teams, voicing the question that was on many minds.


	2. Reveals at the Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the chapter title does enough of a chapter summary here. Um... I guess I could say awkward interactions that lead to revealing secrets? Oh and a couple cute kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading my story. I hope you guys like this chapter! I do not own Young Justice or Batman.

It’s been a week since the whole mishap back at the mountain. And it took that long for Barbara Gordon to get a call from a butler asking her to come over for dinner. Truthfully, Barbara thought she was going to get the call a lot earlier, but this is the first time that the people in Wayne Manor, other than Alfred, could truly find her. Well, she likes to think at least.

Alfred had been by Barbara's side, though not always physically, through most of the years after accidentally crossing paths with the mother.

Currently, Barbara and her children were at their small three bedroom borrowed house getting ready to go to Wayne Manor. It's not every day that someone gets invited to dine with the most well known person in Gotham. Well, not anymore that is.

Barbara is not even sure why she agreed to this. She was not sure if she was ready for this. _The truth_. It has been bugging her for the past five years, and it has always been in the back of her mind.

****BG****

The drive to Wayne Manor took an hour and a half, mainly since they lived on the outermost part of Gotham. "It was a bad idea to drive during rush hour," Barbara muttered under her breath as her car sped to the gate of the Manor. She looked into her rear view mirror and looked at the children sitting in the back. The girl wore a cute floral dress, while the boy wore nice jeans and a hoodie. They were just sitting there, struck in awe looking at the mansion through their window. The gate opened, allowing the trio to continue through. A moment later and the car’s wheels stopped in front of the main entrance.

The female bat let out a breath, "here goes nothing." Barbara got out of the car and went to the back to help the two kids out of their tight hold. As the kids jumped from the car, they both put sunglasses on to hide their eyes. The boy even put his hood up to cover his dark, almost black hair.

Together, they walked to the front door. The wind started picking up, carrying the little girl's dark red, brown hair in the wind. She was just shy in height compared to her brother, but there was more bounce in her steps. Standing in front of the doors, the gang looked up at the humongous mansion. Barbara could feel herself getting nervous, which was strange. It did not make sense for her to feel like this. She’s been to this house millions of times, but this time was definitely different. Getting enough courage and silently swallowing her stomach down, Barbara rang the doorbell. Not soon after, the monstrous doors opened with a butler standing by. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Ah, Miss Gordon. Please do come in," the butler said while gesturing for the group to walk inside. When the kids walked in, they were even more amazed at how big the inside looked.

"Woah," the little boy’s voice escaped him.

"Woah, indeed Master Jay," agreed Alfred while closing the door. Barbara let out a sigh as she looked around.

"It's been a while since I’ve been up here, hasn't it?" She said to no one in particular.

"A little more than four years." Barbara looked at Alfred, "right this way. Master Bruce is already at the dinner table waiting." The group followed Alfred to the dining room. Once they got in, Barbara stopped and stared. The same long mahogany table that could seat more than twenty people was standing in front of her. The only difference was that Bruce Wayne sat alone at one end. Seeing the family head sitting calmly at the table made her nerves go even more on edge. It's not everyday that Mr. Wayne would take time out of his schedule for a dinner meeting with someone he had not seen in years.

"Barbara, always a pleasure to see you." He said while getting up and walking over to shake Barbara and the two children's hands. "And a pleasure to officially meet these two." Barbara tried to smile, hoping to calm her nerves. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all, as long as the kids entertained themselves.

"Please, the pleasure is all mine, Mr. Wayne," she was not sure if she should call him by his last name, but it kind of just rolled off her tongue.

"Please Barbara, Bruce is fine. We are family after all." Barbara figured he was hinting at the batfamily part, but honestly, who knows. And with that he took his place back at the head of the table and gestured for the guests to sit down as well. It was kind of strange having him talking like this, but maybe he assumed the kids had been left in the dark about their past time.

"Mommy," the little girl whispered as low as she could, but loud enough for Barbara to hear, "he doesn't seem like Batman." Barbara silently chuckledl, but she was positive that Bruce heard.

"We can talk about it later when we get home, okay?" Barbara responded trying to whisk the conversation away as Alfred showed them to their seats.

Alfred walked to the end opposite of Bruce and pulled out a chair. The butler gestured again for Barbara to sit, and so she did. Alfred did a similar motion, by pulling out the seats next to Barbara and let the kids sit on either side of her. After seeing that everybody was seated, Alfred walked out to make sure the dinner was prepared to his liking. For a few minutes, no one said anything, not even the kids. They seemed too distracted by the room they were in and the big man in front of them.

"I'm sorry if you had to take a lot of time out of your schedule for this," Barbara looked at Bruce, breaking the silence.

His gaze met hers, "not at all. We do have some important matters to talk about."

"Yes, you do sir, but first, dinner," Alfred said as he went around and placed food in front of each person. As dinner was being eaten, the conversation dwindled. It was quiet again, as if no one wanted to talk about the inevitable. Even after everyone finished the delicious dinner twenty minutes later, no one said a thing. Alfred came around and sighed.

"Miss Gordon," Barbara looked towards the man, "would it be alright if I took the children into the other room to play? I am quite sure you two have much to discuss." The children's faces grew with excitement after Barbara nodded, though the mother did wonder what there was to play with in this mansion.

Bruce and Barbara watched Alfred lead the kids out. When her kids were out of her site, Barbara felt strange. She felt a little relieved that Alfred offered to move them somewhere else, but now her heart was pounding faster.

"So... How's work?" Barbara asked, trying to start some conversation with the man. And this led to a discussion about Bruce's jobs, anything he had been doing lately, etc. They talked about anything, except the main topic that Barbara was called there for: the children. Speaking of the kids, Barbara stared at the door as soon as she saw the red-brown hair run straight to her. 

The redhead looked down at the girl's frightened face, "what's wrong?" Barbara worriedly asked. She didn’t need an answer though, because what was wrong came walking through the door within the next second. Richard Grayson, Tim Drake, Artemis Crock, and Wally West stared at the situation before them. Barbara's heart dropped, but she tried to keep her emotions in check as well as keeping an emotionless face.

"So, how far have we gotten with the life of Barbara Gordon?" Alfred asked while walking into the room and carrying a tray of little bowls filled with chocolate pudding, enough to feed more than the expected amount of company. Alfred did not seem the slightest bit shocked at seeing the newcomers.

"Score!" Wally said as he ran, grabbed all the bowls of pudding, and joined the big table.

"What's going on here?" Tim asked. He looked extremely confused as he glanced at Barbara and the girl. Dick, Tim, and Artemis were getting closer to the table with each passing second. They slowly started asking questions. When they got to the table, the little girl ran out of the room, probably to go find her brother. The questions kept on coming stronger and more annoying than before, with Bruce and Barbara staying silent. The room felt as if it was closing in on the female in question.

Barbara stood up accidentally slamming her hands down on the table causing a loud noise making everybody stop. "I'm sorry, I can't do this." Everybody turned and stared at her. The nerves finally got to her, which was strange since they never really do. "I'm really sorry, but I should go," she said while trying to leave.

"Now stop right there, Miss Gordon," Alfred softly commanded. "You have been avoiding the conversation the whole time." She turned to Alfred, but the rest of the group could see a closeness between the two.

"I've been avoiding the conversation? Bruce is the one who hasn't asked any questions related to the topic!" She let the sentence die off as she thought about what he said. Alfred was right, she kept steering the conversations in another direction. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, but she did know that she was getting mad at Bruce and Alfred for no reason. She let out a tired sigh, looked at Bruce, and ran a hand through her hair. "Listen, I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm getting so worked up. I've just had a lot on my mind lately." She let out another sigh, "It would be better if you just flat out asked questions."

"Questions? About what?" Dick asked as he, along with Tim and Artemis, took a seat joining the table. It was clear he knew what the questions were supposed to be about, but he asked anyway. Barbara's heart started beating rapidly again. Bruce was about to tell the group that just walked in to leave, when Barbara stopped him.

"They will find out about this sooner or later: either by hacking into cameras or by someone telling them. You can let them stay in here." Barbara relaxed a little as she took her seat again. Everybody was silent, until Bruce decided to get it started.

"Names?" He asked bluntly.

"Jay and Kay," Barbara replied, staring at Bruce.

"JK? Real names?" Dick asked. Barbara just shrugged the question off.

"How old are they?" Bruce asked another question.

"4 years and a few months,"

“How are the two related?"

"Twins."

"Were they affected by the pollen?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"To what extent?"

"Enough to gather all of the data I relayed to both teams," Bruce nodded his head.

"Are they yours?" Bruce asked, causing everybody to stop what they were doing, mainly Wally who had a spoonful of pudding just outside of his mouth since everyone else was already engulfed in the conversation.

Barbara was quiet for a moment before answering, "Yes." If the room could get any more silent, it did. The temperature might have even dropped a little.

"Who is the father?" Barbara knew this question would come up. Dick stiffened, Artemis and Wally leaned in. and Tim sucked in a breath. Barbara looked into Bruce's eyes seriously.

"Listen,” the redhead let out a sigh, “what matters is that it’s me and the twins."

"I’m not too sure about that," Wally responded in shock.

"He doesn't know?" Bruce said it more as a statement then a question. Barbara winced, but nodded, confirming the fact.

"I... I don't know. I don't think so."

"What makes you say that?" Artemis cautiously asked.

"The pollen. I'm not sure if it affected him, he never really acknowledged me in any romantic way after," Barbara replied.

"Okay, but how do you remember?"

"Umm... Well, I did give birth to them," Barbara stated.

"Right," Artemis's face reddened a bit, "dumb question."

"Wait," Wally interjected, "you mean you never told _their_ father that _he_ is their father?" Wally nearly shouted. Barbara nodded yes. "You're telling me that there is a man out there who doesn't know he has twins!" Wally looked furious, sure he understood it between Red Arrow and Cheshire but Barbara?

"Wally," he stopped talking. Barbara took in a breath before continuing, "He moved on with his life, so I did the same with mine." The speedster could almost feel unsaid stories from that one sentence. Barbara smiled softly, but Wally still looked against that decision. He was about to say something else, but Barbara beat him to the chase, which does not happen very often. "What could I have done Wally? It's not like I had a chance with him anyway," she whispered the last sentence, so not everyone heard it. One thing was for sure, they all could see that she was truly affected by whatever happened. How could she not be? "Besides, the past is the past, can't change it now."

"Well," Wally started, but Artemis elbowed him. Wally clearly wanted more answers, but he decided to stay silent. For now. 

"I'm sorry I haven't been around or told you guys anything, but we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. It's not like I don't like my kids, I love them, but it's more on the line that people will use the pollen to their advantage." She looked at everybody. They all seemed to agree, but Dick seemed off. Maybe even upset, but that seemed out of character to Barbara so she just let it pass. Though it has been about five years, it is possible for people to change.

****BG****

Dinner and dessert was over and so was the long talk. A talk that would open the door to Barbara’s past five years. They all wanted more answers from the mother, but they knew it would come out in due time. While they may or may not agree with what Barbara has done, they do still trust her judgement. Slowly, everybody started moving toward the front door of the manor. They didn’t get to hear the whole story tonight, but one day they will. Especially if Batgirl was breaking into their lives again.

"I assume everything went well?" Alfred asked the group.

"Well enough," Barbara answered. She walked up to the door, then turned around facing everybody. "Alfred, would you mind getting my kids?" The butler gave a small smile.

"Not at all, Miss Gordon," and with that Alfred left the room to find the children. Barbara smiled softly.

"You've matured," Bruce said while watching Barbara. She turned her attention to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you know what it's like having children," she looked at Bruce sincerely, "but I don't think that I've changed that much." She ran a hand through hair, a habit she’s picked up over the years. Alfred came back into view with two little kids following.

"Mommy! Mommy!" the little girl said as she skipped her way towards her mother while her brother walked behind. "Look at what we made!" The little girl held a piece of paper up for Barbara to see. On that paper was somewhat of a picture sequence.

"Wow guys, it looks great. Why don't you tell me about it in the car, okay?" The little girl nodded. "Well, it was nice seeing you all again, and I am sure we will see each other soon." Bruce nodded. "Oh, wait. Let me introduce you guys." Barbara cleared her throat, "Everybody, this is Jay, and this is Kay." She said gesturing to the boy, then the girl.

The children looked at the group. "Hello?" they said simultaneously and confusedly.

"Hi," Tim said, followed by awkward greetings from Artemis, Wally, and Dick. Tim walked up to them and bent on his knees so he was eye level with them. He stuck his hand out, "nice to meet you."

Jay took his hand and shook, "nice to meet you too, Uncle Tim." Tim was a little taken back at first, but he recovered quickly and made the same gesture to the girl. She just shook his hand and giggled a little bit.

Wally sped up to them, taking one of each of their little hands. "Hi, I'm..."

"Wallace West, nephew of Iris and Barry Allen, one of the first members on the Young Justice team, yet decided to give up his superhero persona and move in with..." the last part of what the little boy was saying was muffled by a hand covering his mouth and an embarrassed Barbara.

"These kids sometimes read a bit too much." Barbara let her hand drop once she knew that Jay was done talking. "I should really get going, I kind of told dad that I would stop by for a few minutes..." They all said their final goodbyes and watched as Barbara, Jay, and Kay drove off past the gates of the Manor.

"Well, that was eventful," Wally said, then turned to the group. "Artemis and I have to get going, too." The archer nodded in agreement. Wally went up to Dick, "See you later man. And you too Tim and, uh, Mr. Wayne."

"Come on, I'll walk you out," Dick told them as he started moving towards the Batcave.

****BG****

After everybody left and Tim went to bed, Alfred walked into Bruce's office. Bruce was sitting and was lost in thought staring outside of his giant window.

"I would say dinner went well." Alfred paused, but he knew the bat was listening as he stopped by him. "Why did you ask Miss Gordon all of those questions if you knew most of the answers?" Most of the time Alfred knew what Bruce was thinking, but he was still a little skeptical.

"She needed it."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"She’s held this information inside of her for a long time, she needed to say it out loud." It was clear Bruce saw how nervous she was. That wasn’t the strong headed Barbara he knew. They stood in silence for a few minutes, "why did you invite Dick, Artemis, and Wally?" Bruce’s gaze shifted towards Alfred.

"The same reason, sir, 'she needed it'." Bruce nodded in agreement.

"Alfred do me a favor, call her tomorrow and tell her we need to talk."

"Sir?"

"Those kids know too much information. They knew all about Wally. They know that I am Batman." His eyes squinted slightly, "did you see the picture they drew?"

"No, sir."

"It was a drawing of a smoke bomb. No not smoke, but confetti." Bruce thought back to the first time he saw them in the mountain. He remembered what Batgirl threw and the mess of confetti afterwards. "The kids are too smart for their own good, but I'm sure Barbara already knows all of that." The room was left with silence after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now what?? 
> 
> I hope you like it so far. This story has been hard to get it on paper, but it is fun to write. Just so you know, I made Barbara act like this for a reason. She is stressed out and you will find out why in future chapters. I also know I started this chapter out a little strange, but I did not know where else to add that little information. Please Review! and Thank you again for reading!


	3. It's a Friendly Spar, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, you're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. Well, to tell you the short story, I ended up getting mixed up with some powder stuff, leading to two (freaking adorable, if I don't say so myself) children, and now here we are. At the mountain. Trying to get back into an old life that I'm not even sure I want to be back in. That's some what of a lie. I miss my friends. 
> 
> This is the one where I introduce my kids to everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. I don’t know if I would want to cause that sounds like a lot, but I would love to write stories for them!
> 
> Enjoy <3

_Recognized Batman A01, Batgirl B16, Guest 1, Guest 2_

Batman walked into the mission room with a purpose and Batgirl and her children following behind. "Mission room," Batman’s deep voice released into the mountain, "now." The team listened to the big boss and walked into the room as he instructed. They stood awkwardly as they saw Batgirl and the two children in front of them. It seemed like news got around fast.

_Recognized Nightwing B01_

"Whose idea is this?!" Nightwing shouted as he walked up to Batman. The team members shifted out of the way making a path for their leader to walk through, wondering what Batman wanted to tell the group. "Who made this decision?"

"It was necessary," was all Batman said to Nightwing before speaking to the whole team. "Batgirl will be here to help with the mission concerning Ivy." Everybody looked back and forth between each other. "She will also help watch over the team." Her face winced a little, but she hid it well. Not to mention the fact that she will be staying at the manor making it easier for her to commute among other things. By choice, yes. Whose choice? Maybe not Barbara’s. 

"What about the other leaguers?" Beast Boy asked, wondering why they needed Batgirl, or anyone, to watch over them. That stung Batgirl a bit. Not to say she wasn’t wanted, but there was definitely a distant feeling in the air. 

"They have their own missions."

"But..." Batman cut Nightwing off.

"And Nightwing has other business to attend to." Batman gave him a look which shut him up. "That's final," and with that, Batman walked out. Nightwing just stared after the bat, just like everyone else.

_Recognized Batman A01_

"So we need someone watching us again?" Beast Boy questioned.

"It's like having a babysitter," Bart added.

"It’s been years. He still doesn’t trust us." Superboy muttered.

"I doubt it," everybody turned toward Batgirl. "I have been gone for five years. Are you sure he doesn't trust me?" The group thought about it. "Listen; don't look at it as if I am watching over you, but as if you are watching over me." The redhead looked at the team, "I know a lot of information about the teams. Isn't it possible that I let some of it spill?” Not that she did, but you could never be too careful. “He probably wants to keep an eye on me and know my location at all times." Plus the kids. Barbara frowned slightly. Without another word, Nightwing looked at Batgirl and then walked out. Batgirl’s face fell a little more as the team and her watched him disappear.

_Recognized Nightwing B01_

"What's up with him?" Bart asked.

Batgirl softly looked at Bart. "If one of your best friends from when you were younger left for five years without any notice or anything, how would you feel?"

"Extremely hurt... Or maybe..." Bart started, not really expecting anyone to answer. To be honest, she didn’t mean to answer either.

"It was a rhetorical question," Tim whispered to Bart. They looked at Barbara's face, but she seemed calm with an atmosphere of sadness, almost as if she has accepted the fact.

"It's okay, I know what I did. And so does he." A small smile broke as the redhead looked over towards her children. During all of this, the kids were distracted by their surroundings. They finally could get a better look at the place, though through their sunglasses. They kept looking around until their eyes focused on the heroes in the room: Impulse, Blue Beetle, Robin, Mal, Superboy, M'gaan, Cassie, Karen, and Lagoon Boy. "I guess introductions are in order. Everybody, this is Jay," Jay gave a salute to the team, "and this is Kay," who saluted as well.

"We will try not to bother you," Kay’s voice was strong and firm, almost as if she has been practicing this line.

Barbara nodded along with some members of the team giving awkward hellos. "Good..." Nobody said anything after; they were too busy staring at the children. "So...?" Barbara tried to speak.

Superboy looked at Batgirl, shook his head, and started walking out, "Nightwing wasn't your only friend." Lagoon Boy walked out too, followed by Blue Beetle, Mal, and Karen. Robin and Impulse looked at Batgirl before reluctantly joining the group who left.

Batgirl nodded a little, "right..." She muttered.

"Come on," M'gaan said softly, while she and Cassie moved ahead of them a bit, "it's been awhile since you've been here. A few things have changed." Batgirl gave them a small thankful smile.

And that's how the first day was. It was also the first day that Barbara realized that this would be a whole lot harder than she thought. But she could take it. She’s managed so much in the past few years, a few cold shoulders shouldn’t get her down. She bit her lip. It still hurt though.

****BG****

Throughout the week, the team went about their own business. People came and went. The leaguers didn't show much, unless there was a mission. Nightwing only came around to help the team with sparring and other lessons. Barbara and the kids did not get in anybody's way. They made sure of it, though it wasn’t too hard since it seemed like the team was practically ignoring them. Barbara would sit by the counter in the kitchen and get her work done, while the kids would sit in a corner talking over papers they drew on.

"Hey," Tim said as he leaned against the counter in civvies and sunglasses. He seemed to be the only one who could talk to Barbara somewhat comfortably, though it might be because they had been living together for the past few days.

"Hey," Barbara responded as she went through her papers.

Tim leaned in, glanced at Barbara, and then tried to get a look at her papers. "What's library science?"

"A degree about technology, education, and dealing with… well libraries."

"A degree? Wait, college? Graduate?" Barbara nodded.

"Trying to get a doctorate, but I'm sure that that is not your real question..." She started writing on a few more pages before turning her full attention towards Tim and fixing her reading glasses. "Yes, Tim?" She smiled in a way that he wondered if she really did know everything there was to know.

"Uh... I was kind of wondering..."

"Yes?"

"What are the," his face scrunched a little as he tested the word on his lips, "kids, doing?"

"Writing a proposal." Barbara answered and turned back to her papers remembering something she forgot to check off.

"A proposal?" Her eyes slid to Robin’s again and nodded.

"Well, long story short, I kind of walked in on them experimenting with my equipment once, and it was not pretty at all. They made a mess, used dangerous items, and did something without my permission." The mother counted off on her fingers. 

Tim was skeptical about the whole thing, but listened anyway. "Sounds kind of familiar..." The young boy thought back to his own past.

"Like any other Batclan member?" She let out a breath, "yup. Anyway, after that, I told them that they need a way of telling me what they are planning on doing before they do it. I mean, if I told them to stop they most likely would have continued to do it behind my back, or even go down an emotional spiral and you do not want to be on the end of those," Barbara shrugged. "And this is what we agreed on." Tim nodded, about to ask another question when Barbara interrupted him. "Watch, here they come." Jay and Kay excitedly walked up to them, and looked up to their mother expectantly. "Yes?" Barbara lifted a knowing eyebrow.

"Umm..." Kay started and nervously glanced towards ‘the outsider’.

"Go ahead; I'm sure he would love this." Tim’s eyes shifted to Barbara then back to the kids.

"Alright," the little girl cleared her throat, "ready Jay?" the boy nodded, telling her to go ahead. "Remember that one time where our confetti pellets exploded in the living room, and you got really mad at us for the mess?"

"How could I forget? We were cleaning it for weeks." The mother sternly crossed her arms.

"Uh... Yeah... Well... Uh..."

"We think that we found a potential way to clean up that mess," Jay continued the explanation without missing a beat. He went through the pages he was holding and took out the artwork from when they were at the Manor. On the sheet of paper was a drawing of a step-by-step description of exploding confetti pellets. "One way to get rid of paper is by burning it."

"No, you are not playing with fire."

"Wait, let them finish," Tim moved closer to the sheet. It seems as if the conversation intrigued him along with the step-by-step picture. The kids looked from Robin to their mom before continuing.

"We have been trying to figure out if there was a way to add a spark to the confetti which would make it burn, thus getting rid of the mess."

"Alright. I am not agreeing to anything yet, but how do you plan on accomplishing that?" Barbara cautiously humored.

"Well, we thought about adding something with the confetti, but then it could explode too early," Jay put a small hand to his chin.

"We've been stuck on this for more than a week.” Kay pouted as her voice shifted into a tone that she knew would make it difficult for anyone to say ‘no’, “we just can't find a way, but we were hoping you could..." She let the sentence sweetly trail off hoping it would get picked up.

"Which chemicals were you planning on using?" Tim took the bait.

Jay’s eyes widened a little in shock. "Well, we thought about..." Barbara just let them talk it out and turned back to her work. They went back and forth as if they were middle age scientists. It was kind of funny, until they kept getting louder and causing more of the team to watch them discuss this issue. The mother leaned into what they were saying and thought about the first time the team saw her children. It was when the smoke from her smoke pellets cleared out and little pieces of paper fell to the ground. An idea struck her.

"Why don't you use two different types of pellets and throw them at the same time..." Barbara voiced as she saw a light bulb go off in Jay and Kay's head. It was just like she had done, throwing the confetti pellets and smoke pellets together.

"We can make it so the confetti goes off first..." Kay started.

"Then the second pellets can cause a reaction with the confetti..." Jay continued.

"And blow it to dust," Tim finished. Tim, Kay, and Jay excitedly gave each other high-fives.

"We should also add magnesium to the sparked ones. It would make them extremely bright and could blind people," Kay eagerly thought aloud, "uh... but it's not like we would go out crime fighting or anything..." The little girl quickly added to reassure her mother. They knew the rules.

"No you will not," Barbara stated, "but I do have a question. How will you clean up all the ash?"

"Oh that's simple, we uh..." Jay started again.

"Yea, we'll do that... Uh, right?" Kay looked questioningly at her brother.

"Right," Barbara smirked, "why don't you go think about that..." Barbara turned back towards her stack of papers as the new trio of friends started talking again. That started another long conversation between two little kids and a teenage boy discussing things and chemicals that usually end in fireworks.

***BG***

Eventually the week flew by, and it became Friday. Batgirl and her children were in the mountain again, but this time in the mission room. The room looked the same to Barbara, except maybe it was more high tech. It still had the same big empty space that could project holograms, and honestly what more could you ask for. 

Barbara stood outside of the arena circle while she watched her children spar on the lit up floor. They had been there for the past hour, trying to see who could one up the other. Usually these spars end in a tie or by one giving up. The two were sweating. Jay tried to land a punch on Kay, but she was swift and moved out of the way.

"Jay, you don't always have to attack, block more." He nodded, but he was breathing hard. _I should end this soon._ The two children were really into their spar, trying to see who would win this time. They can be pretty competitive, but Batgirl knew it was about to end. Kay was getting sluggish. The young girl threw a punch at Jay, but he blocked, then another, and another. While he blocked the last one, Kay left her stomach wide open, an easy target. Batgirl could see it all in slow motion. Jay's leg slowly went up and that was the cue for Batgirl. She skillfully moved towards her children, and did her own kick. This kick stopped Jay's right before it could make contact, keeping anyone from getting hurt.

"Mom, why did you stop us?!" Jay nearly shouted at his mother.

Batgirl looked at him, and then towards her daughter. The two watched as the little girl fell to her knees, breathing hard. A hologram ‘failed’ encircled Kay. "That's one reason why. The other reason was that if your kick hit her in the stomach, she would have gotten knocked backwards pretty hard."

"I'm fine, mom," Kay panted out between breaths.

"Sure," Batgirl let out a breath, "I need a break anyway, besides, the team is supposed to come in here for some sparring lesson. Come on; let’s go get some water and something to eat." Jay and Kay nodded and listlessly followed their mother towards the kitchen.

***BG***

Half an hour later, Batgirl walked back into the mission room to watch the team practice. When she walked in, she looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

Superboy was sparring with Cassie. "Where's Nightwing? It's not like him to miss a sparring lesson," Batgirl quietly asked.

"Don't know, but he said he would be late," Robin replied while watching Superboy and Cassie throw unsuccessful punches at each other. It was not until a misstep that caused Cassie to fall to the ground, claiming Superboy as victor that the unsatisfying spar ended. Batgirl took note of their skills.

Next was Robin and Impulse. They started to fight, but while they were trying to get the upper hand on each other, she noticed the same factor that the first group lacked. And now that she thought about it, she noticed this lack of a factor while watching the team spar for the past couple of days. Both boys are offensive and aggressive, barely blocking. Sure Robin was a little better at it, but it seemed like they were trying to find the quickest way to end the match, and not necessarily the smartest.

"Mommy, why do they keep pushing each other?" Kay asked quietly while engagingly watching the spar. Looks like the children followed behind her. They seemed to have their energy back.

Superboy scoffed. "They're sparring," the boy of steel spoke as if Kay knew nothing.

"I know that, but..." she took a breath before continuing, "all they are doing is punching and kicking each other." Superboy gave her a weird look.

"Yea, they aren't blocking or dodging," Jay added completely ignoring Superboy, but the members listening to the kids noticed it as well. As they watched Robin throw a punch at Bart, Bart quickly moved out of the way before attacking again. _Usually Tim would be more careful, at least five years ago_ , Batgirl thought.

"Robin, keep blocking until you see an opening," Batgirl instructed. If it was anyone else, they probably would not have listened, but Tim just nodded and did as he was told. Bart tried to get a hit on Robin, but kept failing. The hits kept pushing the young bat to the edge of the circle, but Barbara could see that Robin had control of the situation. 

The young bat saw Bart punch with his right fist, and then instincts kicked. Tim blocked with his right arm, allowing his left fist to go under his and Bart's arms, hitting Bart right in the stomach. The blow knocked Bart backwards on to the ground.

"Fail," said the automatic voice, as a hologram message circled around Bart.

"That was totally crash!" Bart said as he was slowly getting up. " I totally had you! You've got to teach me that!"

Tim scratched his head a little bashful, not really sure how to put it into words.

"In some situations, blocking on-coming attacks can lead to an opening," Barbara started to explain. Bart turned his head in confusion. She thought for a second about a way to describe it. "Here, can I show you?" Impulse and a couple others in the team nodded their heads. Barbara looked at her kids and nodded. The duo understood and walked into the arena. Bart questioningly looked at Tim who just shrugged before walking out of the circle. The speedster followed suit, while Jay and Kay stood on opposite sides of each other in a sparring position. Nobody questioned Batgirl about the children.

“Kay, give the motion as if you are punching Jay, but stop before you make contact.” Kay followed her mother’s instructions by stretching one arm out and using her other to block the inside of her body. “Good, Jay I want you to put your hand up as if you were blocking the attack.” Jay nodded. “Now, watch as the two slowly display what occurred during Robin’s and Impulse’s spar.”

Kay went for another punch, causing Jay to block with his other hand. With each block, Kay seemed to be pushing Jay towards the edge of the circle, however her defense naturally on the inside in front of her stomach became less uniformed, causing an opening to appear. Jay saw the opening and struck at Kay, stopping just before Kay’s gut.

“Wait, that’s all you did?” Bart asked Tim. Tim nodded.

“Sometimes, being patient can lead to faster results than always being aggressive. In this case, wanting to keep pushing, can make you forget about your simple foundational techniques, like remembering to protect yourself.” Batgirl wisely stated. It felt a little strange to be instructing the team, but her words came out naturally.

“Wow, Batgirl,” Cassie praised, “you seem to know a lot about this. I saw you coaching your… uh… kids earlier this week.”

Batgirl gave Cassie a small smile in return, “thank you. I…”

_Recognized Batman A01 and Nightwing B01_

The sounds of the zeta-tubes caused everybody to focus their attention on the newcomers. Batman and Nightwing walked in and took in the situation in front of them. Kay and Jay noticed the new duo, and straightened up. Batman looked at the children then at Batgirl and started calculating something in his mind. Nightwing took in the situation as well, but with a hardened expression.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He harshly asked Batgirl.

“I was showing the team a technique,” Batgirl tried to explain calmly, starring Nightwing back in the eyes.

“Yeah!” Beast Boy bounded up towards Nightwing, “she showed us how blocking can lead to an epic takedown!”

Nightwing looked at Beast Boy than at the kids. “Is this how you treat your kids? By making them fight?” His head shot up back towards the female bat.

“What?” Batgirl asked in disbelief. Obviously she would give her children a choice. To be honest, they just picked up on her sparring techniques whenever she worked out. They would watch from a distance and try to copy her. It was scary how close they could get to perfecting her moves. Anyway, it was their choice to learn how to spar. The only time she would force them to do anything, is to try new things out if they were too scared too. If they didn’t like it, they would tell her so. But he didn’t know that. “What are you talking about?” Confusion clearly written on her face. Sure she had come up with many scenarios about a situation like this, but the hidden accusation in Dick’s words was definitely something she did not expect. Not from him.

Nightwing gestured to the two children in the sparring circle and raised an eyebrow.

“I was using them to show a demonstration.”

“Using them?” Batgirl shut her mouth. She could not believe where Dick was taking this conversation. She knew if she said anything else to him, he would just turn the table on her. “And who said you could teach my team? When was the last time you actually went out to check your skills?” Everybody on the team could see that Nightwing had been acting colder to Batgirl ever since she came back, but this was new. Usually he just avoided her, but this dark atmosphere was awkward to say the least. Batgirl looked into Nightwing’s domino mask and let out a sigh, knowing he was expecting an answer.

“I was just showing them something since you weren’t here yet,” she accidentally let the last words slip.

“Do you want to talk about not being here…?”

“Enough,” Batman bellowed. “Nightwing, go start your lessons. Batgirl, come with me and bring those two.” Batgirl was glad that Batman pulled her out of that situation, but did not like how Batman referred to her children.

“Come on, Jay, Kay.” Batgirl followed Batman towards the zeta-tubes before turning around to make sure that her kids were following.

When she looked back, she noticed that her children were looking at the group of superheroes, which now included Nightwing, who was not giving them the nicest expression.

“We’re sorry if we did something wrong,” Kay started off deceivingly-sweetly apologizing to the group, but it was almost as if it was directed to Batman and Nightwing.

“But,” Jay continued and looked at Nightwing with matching cold eyes. “What you did was very disrespectful.” Jay and Kay both smirked at Nightwing as if challenging him, “heavy on the dis.” To say Nightwing was shocked by the comment was an understatement. He almost let it show on his face. 

Batgirl stared at the two with wide eyes. She swiftly walked up to the duo and grabbed their hands. “Sorry about that, they usually have better manners,” Batgirl said while glaring at her children, though she could also feel her mouth twitch up just a little. “Sorry, we’re leaving.” Batgirl dragged the two, who secretly gave each other high-fives, through the zeta-tubes with Batman following behind, leaving everybody with questions again.

_Recognized Batgirl B16, Guest 1, Guest 2, and Batman A01_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those children! They can be as respectful as their mother, but as challenging as their father! Though vice versa could work too…Also just so you know, there is a reason that BG is acting the way she is. She has been gone for a while, so it's not like she can come back and start arguing with people. The next chapters might be written in a different writing style, because I just noticed that my writing has changed somehow…. Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment! :D 
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> SuperMehr
> 
> Edit: 2014 sometime  
> Edit: April 7th, 2020


	4. Let’s Have a Splash of Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! You might be wondering how I ended up in this situation. Well it's quite a story, but we can talk about that later. Honestly, let's just take a moment to unwind and hang out. Maybe bake some cookies, play some games, bake some cookies. Ooooo, cookies.
> 
> The one where half the team gets uh… a different kind of mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!! Please let me know what you think! Also thank you for all the comments, kuddos, and reads!
> 
> Sending you all lots of love <3

“Bruce, you can’t be serious.” Batman stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Barbara. He, while wearing his kevlar suit, was heading to Mount Justice to give more information about the mission the Young Justice team were about to depart on. The two were currently alone in the Batcave. 

Batman stared down at Barbara. The redhead had just gotten back from working in the library. She was wearing dark skinny jeans and a maroon button down top. The two had been having the same conversation ever since Batman pulled her out of the mountain earlier that morning. Sure they had split ways when they went to work, but the conversation never left Barbara’s mind. 

Earlier, she, as much as she did not want to burden him, had left her children with Alfred. When Barbara got back from work, Alfred had told her that members in the mountain wanted to hang out with Kay and Jay, which honestly surprised her. Maybe what they said earlier, sparked a little interest in the team? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but apparently, Tim had come by a little earlier and took the kids with him to the mountain. Barbara was fine with that, but what she was not fine with was what Bruce has been currently suggesting to be done.

“Bruce,” Barbara said while staring back into his cowl. She spoke slowly, “they are just kids-”

“With photographic memory, intelligence that could surpass any of us, and other skills that we do not know of. Those children are dangerous.” Barbara broke the eye contact she had with Batman. She knew he was right, but what could they do?

She took a hopefully calming breath before saying any more, “I know that. But I… I just can’t.” She looked at him again. This conversation was making her tired. “Please, you can’t take them away from me.” Batman’s eyes widened a little. “Fine, go ahead and do tests on them. Go ahead and see how smart they actually are or can become. Go test their martial art skills and gymnastic skills. Actually, I would prefer not to do chemical tests on them. That could really scare them, and trust me you do not want to be caught up in a moment with one of them being terrified. Their emotions go all out of whack and…” Barbara realized she was rambling as she noticed Batman getting impatient. Batman turned away from Barbara and started heading toward the zeta-tube again. The mother let out another sigh and ran a hand through her hair. “Do you really think we should do that to them? Treat them as science experiments? You want to lock them up and take away their freedom. You know what all of that does to people. I mean look at the teams. Martian Manhunter was tested on. Superman and Superboy were tested on. You know how affected they were by that. Even people not on the team. What about some of our enemies?” Barbara bit her lip, afraid of the answers. “Do Jay and Kay really mean nothing to you?” Barbara looked towards Batman’s back. For some reason, she could feel water reach her eyes. Sure, she hadn’t been around for too long, but she had to hope for something. Did being Batman and Batgirl mean nothing to him? Were they not all practically a family, no matter the blood relations?

He stopped again but stayed silent. Barbara watched as Batman started moving forward again, punched some numbers into the zeta-tube, and disappeared into the light.

The female bat kept staring at where the Dark Knight had stood. Him not saying anything, is still him saying something. The fact that he not only did not answer, but also paused, proved to Barbara that the children did have some effect on him. A small smile grew on her face as she followed Batman to Mount Justice. This also proves that he was somewhat against doing what he was suggesting. 

***BG***

_ Recognized Batgirl B-16 _

“Mommy!” Barbara did not have much time to prepare herself as she walked out of the zeta-tube. Both children had run and jumped into her arms. The mother was used to this, and somehow managed not to fall over as she steadied both children in her arms. Barbara had the most genuine smile anyone could have on their face, as her children excitedly started telling her what they did today.

“We had so much fun!” Kay started with sparkles in her eyes.

“Yea! Uncle Robin brought us here and-” Jay continued just as excited as his sister.

“We got to play with everyone! First we played catch with Robin and Impulse!”

“Impulse cheated though!”

“Oh really?” Barbara could not believe how excited her kids were and was kind of curious as to how Impulse could cheat in catch.

“Yea! He-” The conversation stopped as they heard a deep voice being cleared. The trio followed the sound, and Barbara’s eyes once again fell on Batman. Batgirl quickly noted that all of the Young Justice members, except Kid Flash and Artemis, were in the room as well.

“Batgirl.” The redhead could see that Batman’s facial expression had softened, but one would really have to know him to be able to tell. Barbara nodded her head.

She looked at her kids and smiled, “why don’t we finish this conversation in a little bit? I need to listen to this first, and we are holding them up from starting.” The duo looked to their mom and nodded their heads, understanding the situation. “Good, why don’t you run to the other room, and I will be there shortly?” 

Batgirl joined the other Young Justice members after she set down her kids, who in turn did as they were instructed. The young mother still had a small smile on her face and her eyes seemed to say that she was lost in a different world, clearly not present at the scene in front of her.

Batman noticed this and cleared his throat again. This brought Batgirl back to the real world. She gave him a strange look and then glanced around at everyone else. They were all looking at her for some reason with smiles on their faces too. Well almost everyone. Nightwing looked as if he was calculating something.

Barbara turned her head to Batman, but her eyes lingered on Nightwing for a second longer. “Sorry, I had a rough day at work. And you know, seeing your kids always brings a smile to your face...” She shrugged as everyone just stared at her.

“Yes, we totally know what that feels like,” Karen said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

Barbara’s eyes moved towards Karen while she laughed with some of the other members. “Well Karen, when you and Mal have children, you will know what I’m talking about.” Karen’s mouth dropped while her and Mal’s faces slowly started heating up as everyone else kept laughing. 

“BG!” Karen said shocked.

“I’m kidding! I mean, you guys have been dating for a while.” Barbara added, giving the two a knowing smirk.

“BG!” Karen shouted again.

Most of the members were laughing at how embarrassed Karen and Mal looked. Barbara was among them, but she noticed that someone did not enjoy the situation as much. 

“Enough,” Nightwing said, “Batman doesn’t have much time.”

“Right, sorry,” Batgirl responded, not really meaning it, and turning her attention towards the big man. Everybody else followed Barbara’s example and waited for the big boss to start.

“Two abandoned warehouses seem to have started up again without reason.” Batman pulled up two maps on the screen. One was of Gotham and New York and another was of Florida. There was one dot on the border of Gotham and another on the coast of the sunshine state. Then pictures of the factories showed up. “We have reason to believe that illegal chemicals are being sent between both locations.”

“What kind of illegal chemicals?”

Batman looked at Robin. “That's what this team is going to find out. We speculate Ivy has something to do with it. This is a two part mission. You will split up. This mission is a covert recon mission, only engage if necessary. You will need to get a sample of the chemicals from both factories.” Batman looked at Nightwing, “only take six people on this mission. Get in, and then get out.” Batman looked at the team again before walking out to leave the rest to their team leader.

_ Recognized Batman A-02 _

Nightwing took his cue. “Alpha will consist of me, Wondergirl, and Superboy. We will take the factory outside of Gotham. Beta will get the one in Florida.” Batgirl looked at the rest of the team wondering who could still be chosen for Beta. There was Robin, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, Lagoon Boy, Miss Martian, Bumblebee, Impulse, and Mal. “Beta squad will be Miss Martian, Bumblebee, and Lagoon Boy.”

“Yeah!” Lagoon Boy shouted while he fist pumped the air. 

Robin, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, and Impulse looked a little dejected. They all tried to complain, but Nightwing stopped them before they could.

“These teams are final. Mal, you will handle the computers from here. You will watch the surveillance cameras and warn us if you see anything suspicious.” Nightwing looked at everybody in the room. Robin was going to say something, but then stopped when Nightwing looked at him. “Batgirl,” Nightwing’s eyes widened a bit in confusion after he said her name.

“Yes?” Batgirl, who was standing next to Robin, asked a little shocked that Nightwing called on her.

Nightwing coughed, “Uh… Nevermind.” Batgirl and Robin glanced at each other in confusion, but Nightwing continued. “Beta, you will go to the factory in Florida. It’s along the water. Lagoon Boy, that’s where you will be for back-up.”

“Back-up?” Lagoon Boy asked, a little disgusted.

Nightwing nodded in response, “Miss Martian and Bumblebee can easily sneak in. Take the Bioship with you.” The Beta team nodded, “good, now head out.” Miss Martian, Bumblebee, and a reluctant Lagoon Boy left for the Bioship. “Alpha, let's go. We will zeta into Gotham. Move out.” Superboy and Wondergirl went towards the zeta-tubes, while Robin stopped Nightwing with a hand. Batgirl saw Nightwing look at where Robin’s hand met Nightwing’s arm, and then him looking up at Robin.

“Nightwing, lets go,” Superboy said from the zeta-tubes. 

“I’ll see you later, Rob.” There was something unsaid left in the air, but with that, Robin, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Batgirl, and Mal were the only ones left in the room. Mal was already at the computer pulling up surveillance shots of the factories.

Batgirl glanced at the remaining members and noticed a hint of sadness on Tim’s face. “Don’t worry Robin.” Robin looked at Batgirl a little confused. Barbara gave him a smile. “Nightwing probably really thought it through on who was going on the mission. Since we don’t know the whole picture and haven’t heard much about it, we can assume that the situation isn’t a massive threat as of yet. Which is probably why he decided to take Wondergirl. I don’t mean that in a bad way. He probably wants to see where she is on her recon skills and how well she can handle a mission like this. He probably took Superboy just to fill in what Cassie may not be able to manage. Plus, it is by Gotham, and who knows what crazy stuff can happen. He probably also chose Lagoon Boy because the second location is on the water edge, for just in case purposes. He did say Lagoon Boy was backup, and I assume this is because Bumblebee and Miss Martian can easily sneak in without getting detected. Honestly, Miss Martian and Bumblebee seem ideal for a mission like this, especially because they can hide themselves really well. I know I haven’t been back long and I can’t judge people from the little time I have been here, but it's just a hunch.” Batgirl said this all thoughtfully to the group of boys, yet, they still looked a little down.

“Yeah… I guess…” Robin said before walking out of the mission room followed by the rest of the boys except Mal.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Mal looked away from the screen and at Barbara. The redhead could tell that the young man was contemplating on whether or not to tell her something.

“Mal, it's okay, you don’t have to tell me unless you want to.”

“No, it's not that. It's just… I think ever since you left, Nightwing has been reluctant to put certain people on certain missions.” This surprised the female bat.

“Really?”

Mal nodded, “yeah, especially Robin.”

“Hmm… I wonder why,” Batgirl said while in thought again, which was interrupted by one of her kids running back into the room. Barbara looked down at Jay, who grabbed her hand and started tugging her to another room in the mountain.

“Mom,” Jay whined and grunted while trying to drag Barbara, “come on already. Kay and I have been waiting for-ev-er!” 

Barbara chuckled, “alright, I’m coming.” Barbara let Jay lead the way. “Oh, Mal?” Mal, who had turned back to his work, glanced at the female, “thank you.”

“For what?” Mal asked, confused.

She smiled, “for telling me.” 

Jay tugged harder on Barbara, “Mom…”

“Also, sorry about my comment earlier! Oh and Mal, if you need any help, I’ll be somewhere in the mountain…” was the last thing Mal heard before Jay fully pulled Barbara into another room.

The young man stood there in silence for a moment, “even after being gone for that long, she can still tell what's on Nightwing’s mind.” Mal shook his head, “how she does that, I just don’t know.” He smiled a little and turned back to his work.

***BG***

Jay dragged Barbara all the way to the living room, where the boys who did not get chosen were sulking on the sofas and floor. Kay was standing on the side giving all the boys a questioning look. 

“I don’t get what’s the matter,” Kay said to the group of boys. Barbara noticed that the little girl seemed more comfortable in the mountain, well at least around this squad. “So what? You didn’t get chosen this time, there’s always next.”

“Wow, Kay. You’re very insightful,” Tim mumbled into the couch. It still shocked the boy how much older Kay and Jay sounded almost every time they talked. But he also noticed that they were still kids, and they act like that too.

Kay smiled, “that’s my motto! That’s why I never get down whenever Jay beats me in something, because I know I can win next time!” Kay said powerfully with a fist in the air, trying to cheer the group up. Barbara smiled at Kay’s attempt, but the boys were still pretty depressed.

“Kay?” The little fire-cracker looked up towards her mother, “why don’t you, Jay, and me go to the kitchen and bake some cookies?”

“Cookies!?” Jay and Kay asked excitedly, forgetting about the boy’s ‘dilemma’ completely. Barbara had to be careful with whatever she fed the two. If they ever have too much sugar, they go crazy and stay up all night bouncing around the house. She definitely did not want to deal with that today. The mother still can not tell if this was due to ‘the mutation’, for lack of a better word, or if it's just because they are... children. Anyway, it’s not often that the two get cookies, though with Alfred around, it seems that the crumbly dessert has shown itself more. Sometimes Alfred could be worse than her dad, fulfilling every little whim the baby duo ask for.

“Cookies always make me feel better,” Jay exclaimed ready to take on the challenge. 

“You boys can join us if you want.” Barbara said, opening the invite to the group. They sullenly nodded, but stayed in place. And with that, the mother and her kids went to the kitchen to make some sweet sweets.

***BG***

Jay and Kay sat on stools that surrounded the island in the middle of the kitchen as Barbara tried setting everything up.

The mother turned the oven on to 350 degrees. She figured that M’gann probably kept all the ingredients for cookies here somewhere, just in case she felt like trying new recipes. The redhead got a big bowl, and slid it on the counter to where her kids were sitting, waiting patiently to help out. Thinking shortly, she knew a few recipes from heart, or mind, that they could use. Barbara moved through the cabinets for all-purpose flour, baking soda, sugar, light-brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. After she pulled all of these ingredients out and placed them on the counter, she went to the fridge and added butter and eggs to the filling counter top. There was just one key ingredient missing. Barbara frowned a little looking back at the fridge. She sighed and glanced at her children’s expectant faces.

“I can’t seem to find any chocolate.”

“What? There’s no chocolate?” Kay gloomily asked, almost as sad as the boys in the other room.

Barbara looked in the fridge and faced her children again, contemplating, but momentarily paused when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Raising an eyebrow, “Bart?” Then an idea struck her, “hey Bart, I need a favor.”

The adolescent in question hesitantly came out from hiding behind the wall next to the entrance. “I can’t not answer a call for help…” Bart sheepishly spoke, but stared at the ingredients with a hunger. 

Barbara smiled. “If I give you some money, would you mind running to a grocery store and buy some chocolate for us?”

Bart’s eyes widened a bit. “Actually, I think I have some chocolate bars somewhere here.”

“Oh really?!” The speedster took a small step back, startled by how suddenly cheery Barbara was. Deep down, she was hoping that if they could get one of the boys to join them, then the rest would follow. It was kind of funny, though, that Bart had chocolate somewhere. Honestly, Barbara should not have been as surprised.

“Really, really, Uncle Bart?” Kay asked Bart with big blue eyes while almost knocking down the stool she was on. It just occurred to Barbara that her kids were not wearing their sunglasses to hide their blue-green and blue eyes anymore. Jay did still wear his hoodie to hide his dark, almost black, hair, even though the group probably saw it while the kids were sparing. Though, the mother had a little speculation that that was more of a fashion choice.  _ Well, if they haven’t guessed who their father is now, then they probably won’t be able to guess with those hints.  _ Barbara chuckled a little.

Bart swallowed hard, “uh… I think I have a hidden stash here somewhere.” He seemed uncomfortable having someone look so excited by his presence.

“I’ll help you look,” Jay huffed, while jumping off of his stool. 

Bart showed his well known smile and took up the unsaid challenge. “Whoever finds it first wins!” And Bart took off.

“Mom! See that’s how Uncle Bart cheats!” Jay shouts while trying to catch up to the speedster. 

Barbara and Kay couldn’t help but laugh, “alright, Kay, let’s start putting the ingredients in the bowl.” The little girl nodded and together they put the dry ingredients together, of course Barbara added less than the amount of sugar required. While they were doing that, Bart came running back in. Batgirl was a step ahead, and grabbed the bowl filled with powder and covered it before Bart’s backlash could send the ingredients flying. 

The redhead boy saw what Barbara did, “whoa, that could have totally brought the mode.” Barbara smirked before setting the bowl on the counter again. “But, it's all crash now cause I found the chocolate!” Bart held up a bag of mini Hershey bars as if it was a pot of gold. A few seconds later, Jay followed behind panting. 

“Uncle Bart! That’s not fair! I found them!”

“But I grabbed them first, and that's what matters,” Bart placed the bag on the counter.

“Alright, alright. You both did a good job.” Barbara mainly said that for Jay, but Bart seemed to take in the praise, too. “Why don’t you two open up the chocolate and put it in this bowl,” The mother said while grabbing another bowl from a cabinet and sliding it to the older male. Jay went up to the counter and climbed up on a seat next to Bart. While the boys started opening the chocolate bars and dropping broken pieces into the empty bowl, Kay started mixing the dry ingredients as Barbara put in the vanilla extract and 2 eggs.

The group was working hard until the comfortable silence was broken. “Hey!” Bart shouted. Kay and Barbara looked at the boys to see what the commotion was. Right in between Bart and Jay was Beast Boy, who had a bit of chocolate around his mouth.

“What?” Beast Boy questioned as he grabbed another piece of chocolate from the bowl on the counter.

“BB! The chocolate’s for the cookies!” Bart explained. Beast Boy looked at the chocolate, then looked at the bowl by Barbara and Kay.

“Oh…” Beast Boy finished his piece of chocolate and bounced to Barbara and Kay, “can I mix that? I can mix it really well.” 

Barbara smiled, “sure. Kay would you mind cracking the last egg?” Kay passed the whisk over to Beast Boy, and grabbed an egg to crack. Barbara got the butter ready, and again added a little less than what the recipe asked for. She had to keep them a little bit healthy. The little girl carefully cracked the last egg with extreme precision as her mother slipped in the butter, “okay, now don’t mix too hard Beast Boy, because it will go everywhere if you do.”

Beast Boy nodded and gave the mixing all of his attention. “I got this…” He whispered under his breath. 

“Hey uh… Barbara?” 

“Yeah, Bart?” Barbara turned her attention to the speedster.

“How does the chocolate look? It's been a really long time since I made any cookies.” Barbara looked into the bowl and gasped really loudly. Everybody in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked at Barbara with concern. Beast Boy even dropped his whisk into the mixing bowl which caused a loud clanking sound.

“Mommy, what is it?” Kay asked, worried that something was wrong.

“Oh nothing, they look fine,” Barbara chuckled.

“Don’t do that!” Bart nearly shouted and placed his hand over his heart. “My heart is racing faster than a mile a minute.”

“I’m sorry,” she said in between chuckles, “Honestly, it looks fine. You guys are all doing a good job...”

“What happened?” Robin said rushing into the room, followed by Jaime. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, we heard a loud noise.... is that cookie dough?” Jaime looked at the bowl by Beast Boy.

Bart dashed next to Jaime, “yup, it is. Want to help us?”

“Che… cooking is for girls,” Jaime stopped talking as he noticed how Beast Boy was mixing in the ingredients. “No hermano, that's not how you mix cookie dough,” Jaime said as he walked over to the bowl. Beast Boy reluctantly passed the whisk to Jaime, who started expertly whisking the ingredients together.

“Whoa,” Bart and Beast Boy said as they watched Jaime skillfully fold the ingredients together.

“Well,” Barbara had walked around the counter so she was by Robin. She placed a hand on his shoulder, “would you like to help add the chocolate into the bowl?”

Robin looked at Barbara, and then the counter where everybody was and let out a sigh, “sure.” Barbara smiled and crossed her arms as she watched Robin join the scene in front of her. 

Everybody was around the counter helping make the cookies. Tim, Jay, and Kay were taking turns putting in chocolate chunks into the bowl that Jaime was mixing, while Beast Boy and Bart were watching and pointing out what areas needed more chocolate. (Apparently a lot of places). Barbara went through a few more cabinets and found two cookie trays. She placed them on the counter, and spread some butter on the pans so the cookies would not stick to them. She looked at the group again and smiled. While she has been back, which, again, was not that long, she believes that this is the happiest she has seen them. Barbara opened a drawer in the counter and pulled out six spoons.

“Okay, guys. It looks ready to be placed on the tray,” Barbara said as she handed everybody a spoon. 

“Why are you giving everybody a spoon? Wouldn’t it be more efficient just to use one?”

“Rob, where’s the fun in that? Plus when we are done putting all the dough on the trays, there is always some left in the bowl and you can’t eat that with one spoon,” Barbara replied easily.

“Are you serious? You can get salmonella from that.”  
“If you don’t want any, Rob, that just means more for us. But I do have a limit of how much dough you can eat, because he is right in a way,” Barbara said while eyeing the group. It was Batgirl’s version of a batglare, but she somehow made it softer than how it used to be where it seems more instructive than disapproving.

“Yes, ma’am!” Jay and Kay saluted, which caused the rest of the boys to look at the kids and awkwardly try to copy them. Together, the group scooped a bunch of different sized mounds of cookie dough and slapped them onto the two trays. After pushing and shouting at each other to move their cookies so they would not touch, the group finally finished.

“Nicely done guys. Okay so these need to go into the oven for about…” The group was unable to hear the rest of the instructions that Barbara was about to say due to Jay and Kay diving for the bowl of left over cookie dough.

“Hey!” Bart shouted and went after the bowl too. Eventually the dish was in the middle of them, barely on the counter. All you could hear was them arguing with each other to get some of the dough and the metal clanking of spoons. Barbara shook her head, but decided to put the cookies in the oven. She closed the oven, then looked at the clock. 6:38.  _ Alright so the recipe says about 20 minutes, but I did put two batches in there. So I’ll check it again before 7. _ Barbara thought while watching the group finish the finished cookie dough. 

“Well, that was fun,” Bart said while putting his used spoon in the empty bowl like everybody else. “So when will the cookies be ready?”

Barbara collected the dirty dishes, “soon, Bart. Now we just have to wait.” A thought did cross Barbara’s mind that there was a chance that there would not be enough cookies if a speedster was eating them too, but she decided to worry about that later. As she put the dishes in the sink, she started to hear a rapid tapping noise. Everybody’s eyes landed on Bart.

“What? I hate waiting,” Bart said with a shrug. Robin shook his head in disapproval, but had a small smile on his face.

“Well, I do have one idea that could pass the time, but it may take some time to set up,” Barbara said while doing the dishes. Jay and Kay seemed to understand, for they both got up and went to get something from the other room. The group of boys looked at each other, then back at Jay and Kay as they walked through the door carrying a backpack. Barbara finished and set the dishes to the side to dry. She brushed her wet hands on her pants, and then moved to her kids who gave her the backpack. As Barbara was looking through the bag, the boys slowly inched closer to see what the female bat had in mind. “It still is a bit warm outside, so we should be fine. We can’t stay out too long though, since the sun is setting and all, but…” The female redhead pulled out a bag full of deflated water balloons, “are you up for the challenge?” The boys all looked at each other with smiles slowly growing on their faces. Barbara smiled, “well, let’s go fill up some balloons so we can let the games begin.”

***BG***

The gang went through the mission room, and opened the garage door and headed outside as the mountain announced their departure. While everybody was walking, with Robin carrying a big bucket to hold the water balloons, to the still lit outdoors, Barbara paused by Mal.

“How’s it going?” Barbara asked seriously, all fun from a few minutes ago gone.

“Beta seems to be doing well, but Alpha may be running into trouble.” Mal looked at her, “once I find out what’s going on, I’ll let you know, but the signal has been going in and out.” Barbara nodded in understanding, and proceeded to head outside with the others.

When she reached the edge of the group, she saw that they all split up with some water balloons and went to some of the hose faucets around the mountain. Why there were so many hose faucets, only Batman would know. Barbara went up to Kay and grabbed a few balloons, filling them up at another faucet station. A few minutes later, Barbara checked her watch,  _ 6:54 _ . Barbara looked at the rest of the group, and noticed that they had already thrown a few balloons at each other. She chuckled to herself as she carried the few she managed to fill to the bucket. 

As if a third sense, Barbara could tell something was coming up behind her. She gently dropped her balloons into the bucket, turned around, and caught the two balloons that were flying her way. The problem was, while she was used to catching things that flew towards her, she was also used to throwing them right back. And because her momentum to turnaround was still pushing her, she automatically threw the balloons back where they came from. Well, this was not good for Barbara. Robin, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, Impulse, Jay and Kay were all standing together. They were frozen still at what Batgirl did. Their bodies’ did not register that two pretty decent sized water balloons were coming straight at them. In the end, they all ended up a little wet.

Barbara was shocked, but she burst into laughter. “I’m so sorry, guys! Reflexes!” The skillful redhead looked at her watch again, “I’ll be back! I have to go get the cookies.” As Barbara ran back inside, she noticed the group converse. She had a bad feeling about this.

When Barbara got to the kitchen, she pulled out the cookies and placed them on the counter. “Hot, but they look really good.” The redhead carefully ripped a piece of a cookie off and put it in her mouth. It burnt her mouth a little, but it was a delicious cookie. Now, all the cookies had to do was cool, and then they would be good to go. “I guess I should join them outside again.” But before Barbara did that, she took off her watch and placed her phone on the counter. She had a feeling that she would be better off without those things for now. 

No one was in sight when Barbara got back outside. This put her on edge. The female heard some rustling from a nearby bush. As she looked in the direction of the noise, she dodged a balloon that was coming from another angle. Yup, it seems like it was all on one. Batgirl smiled ready for this,  _ they won’t get a single drop on me _ . And just like that, the cookies on the counter were forgotten.

***BG***

_ Wow, these kids are good.  _ Barbara smirked. She was perched hidden in a tree, trying to come up with a new plan. Those kids may be good, but they had yet to land a drop of water on Batgirl. The bat did have a few close calls, but she managed to get out of them. 

It was dark outside now, so Batgirl used that to her advantage. But because it was dark outside, she also knew that the game had to end. Batgirl sighed and pulled a device out of her utility belt, which she has learned to never leave the house without. It has saved her more than once in the dark streets of Gotham. As a side note, she would not call using her belt cheating since it was all against her, but that is besides the point.

The female balanced herself on the branch she was standing on, and held the device in her hands. She used one hand to extend an antenna on the rectangle box and the other was on the nob trying to find the right signal range. Once she managed to find the right frequency, she started talking into the device.

“Alright guys, time out.” Barbara’s voice could be heard all around the mountain with an echo. As Barbara talked, the device she was using connected to all the speakers outside the mountain, allowing her position not to be compromised. “It’s getting late and cold. The sun is almost fully set. I can’t let you guys get sick. Not only would that be bad for the team, but Nightwing would kill me if he doesn’t already plan to.” Barbara chuckled, “so let's end the game by this. If you guys can get me by the time I run back into the mountain, you win. If not, the game is over, we go inside, and...” Barbara paused as she heard rustling noises around her.  _ Great _ . “I win.” The rustling stopped, Barbara tried to see if she could see anything through the corner of her eyes, but without her night vision mask, it was hopeless. I guess the dark was a disadvantage to her too. “Ready. Set. Go!”

Barbara jumped off the branch and rolled into a crouch behind a bush on the ground. She heard the rustling noises behind her, again.  _ Great. _ Barbara thought again. Batgirl quickly scanned the area around her and noted that she was about 200 yards or about 182.88 meters from the mountain’s entrance.  _ Okay, they would expect me to think of some crazy thought out plan. So let's do the opposite. _

The redhead ran straight out of the bushes and directly towards the door, something Batgirl would usually never do.

“What?!” Barbara heard Robin and her kids shout from behind her.  _ I guess I should have known using a radio device would get me caught _ . 

“Jaime, hurry!” Robin shouted to his friend.

“I’m coming, hermano!” Barbara did not have to look behind to see what their plan was. It seems that Jaime had started using his suit in the game, which not only allowed him to see in the dark, but also gave him pinpoint accuracy to where a person was if he saw them. 

“Ready, Uncle Jaime!” Kay readied herself. Her, Jay, and Robin were going to keep passing water balloons to Jaime creating a non stop water balloon assault.

Jaime faulted a little, “Uncl… Uncle Jaime?” Barbara kept running. 

“Jaime!” Robin shouted, “now!”

“Oh, right!” Jaime got into position, and with the use of his armor, let the balloons fly.

Barbara started moving in a zigzag motion so it would be harder for her to get hit. Even with Blue Beetle’s sensory skills, they kept on missing, which struck Batgirl as weird.  _ Unless, it was some sort of a trap. _ Batgirl’s eyes widened.

Barbara did not have time to continue her train of thought as she heard another voice from above her "Gotcha!" Batgirl’s eyes followed the voice as she ran and saw Impulse on a higher part of the mountain with a bucket full of water balloons. Batgirl jumped and rolled out of the way as Bart threw more balloons in a crazy fashion. The female kept running, the distance between her and the mountain shortening. 

Batgirl took out the rectangular device again and spoke into it. "Hey Mal," she started, connecting the device to the inside of the mountain. She knew Mal could hear her, but she also knew she could not hear him. "Mind opening the garage to let us in?" Batgirl kept running, but the balloons from all sides kept coming.  _ Wait a second. _ Batgirl thought as she was about 20 feet from the entrance.  _ Where is Beast Boy? _

It seemed that the rest of the group was a distraction as Beast Boy was ready for his part. The balloons had forced Batgirl a certain way to make it easier for the animal lad to target the lone player. Batgirl looked up at the ceiling above her as she ran into the mountain.

A green monkey fell from above and landed just behind the unsuspected running female. The monkey quickly aimed a massive water balloon at Batgirl’s head and threw the balloon as hard as he could. Impulse and the rest of the gang got back to the mountain as soon as the balloon left Beast Boy’s tail. The female bat knew it was coming from behind her. She stopped suddenly and ducked.

*POP* *SPLASH*

Barbara opened her closed eyes and put her hands to her hair. She patted herself to see if she was wet anywhere aside from the sweat. Batgirl jumped from her position, “ha! I’m all dry! I win!” Batgirl shouted with a fist in the air and looked at the team that was against her. When she saw all of their faces, she was a little confused. They were all staring wide eyed at something behind ‘the winner’. Kay even had her hands over her mouth.

“Oh, you think you’re all dry?” Barbara’s body froze. Her proud smile slowly vanished as she noticed the room’s atmosphere shift. She felt her ears prick and stomach tingle as her instincts kicked in.  _ Something isn’t right _ . She knew if she turned around she would find the cause of this mood change. But she had to. Slowly the redhead turned her neck to look at the person who spoke. What she saw would have made her laugh if it was not for the overall circumstances. Barbara saw Miss Martian, Bumblebee, Lagoon Boy, Wondergirl, Superboy, and Mal behind a soaking wet Nightwing. The smile on her face completely vanished.

Barbara’s hands quickly covered her mouth, mirroring her daughter, “oh my go… I am so sorr...”

“No,” Nightwing stopped her with a hand. “Don’t say it.” 

The redhead didn’t know what to do, “but…” Nightwing shook his head. 

“Just…” he said rather harshly. He took a deep breath, “come here,” he paused, “and let me give you a hug.” He stared into her eyes through his domino mask as he started to move. A mischievous smile spread across his face, and it almost felt like the two were thrown five years into the past.

“No, really that’s alright,” Barbara said as she slowly started to back away. Barbara could feel fear rise in her. She gulped. Nightwing’s aura shined with a little hint of evil. Plus, his change in attitude from earlier definitely put her more on edge. To be honest, he practically had her hanging off a cliff with one hand.

“Is it alright?” Nightwing questioned with an eyebrow up, “everyone else here seems a little wet, except you.” Nightwing smirked as he saw Batgirl gulp again. Barbara noticed that he was right. Lagoon Boy, Miss Martian, and Bumblebee looked soaked probably from their mission, and Superboy, Wondergirl, and Mal seem to have gotten a little water on them from the flying balloon.

Without any more thoughts or hesitation, Dick grabbed Barbara by the wrist, twisted her around, and pulled her in, just like in the old days. His arms wrapped around her, holding her back tightly against him. Barbara tensed up due to this sudden display of affection and shivered as she could feel the cool water soak through her clothes. “See Barbara, now it's a little more fair,” Dick replied near her ear while practically choking her. Nightwing’s head sunk into her hair as the familiar scent of raspberry shampoo permeated into his memories. It had been a long time since he has done something like this, a long time since he was this close, and until this very moment, he never realized how much he missed it. Barbara on the other hand, had no idea what to think. All she could process was how aware she felt of their bodies touching. She felt extremely uncomfortable, yet also completely at home.

Barbara coughed, finding it hard to breath, “I get it, I get it.” She was smaller than he remembered, yet she still fit into his arms. The peanut butter to his jelly as they used to joke. It was as if the hole he did not know he had in his heart had vanished. 

Everybody started laughing. Dick’s eyes shot open as he heard higher pitched giggles.  _ What am I doing? This isn’t my Barbara… _ his body lost its pull and and his arms reacted without thinking. He pushed the familiar memories away, forcing it back into the dark pits of his mind as he not so kindly pushed his childhood friend away. He tore his eyes from the children as his heart began to beat a little faster. He was not a part of her world anymore, so what was the point in pretending? Was he pretending?

Barbara had felt Dick’s body go rigid, as she felt him close himself off from her again. Batgirl looked at his face as he practically pushed her away from himself as if she were on fire. The redhead had followed the direction of his line of sight before they forcefully parted. She frowned a little.

“I’m going to go change…” Nightwing mumbled under his breath as he walked away. “Meet me back here in 10 to discuss what happened on the mission.”

Barbara turned her head back towards the leader. The room grew silent as Nightwing left. Barbara shivered. “Brr… I’m cold now, from barely getting wet.” Barbara laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “Why don’t we go eat the cookies we made a little while ago?” Barbara asked the room.

“Cookies?” Lagoon Boy asked.

“Yay! Cookies!” Kay shouted as she ran towards the kitchen.

“Last one there is a rotten egg,” Jay smirked before following Kay.

“Hey! Wait!” Impulse shouted as he sped along.

“Bart! Don’t finish all the cookies!” Robin and Jaime ran after Bart causing everybody else to follow, leaving Batgirl alone in the mission room.

She smiled. At least she knows that some of her teammates are okay with her kids. She let out a sigh.  _ Well I should go get those two. I don’t want them catching a cold from their wet clothes.  _ Barbara headed to the hallway that led to the kitchen, but stopped before leaving the mission room. She turned her head and looked at where Nightwing had previously been. Barbara’s face softened as she bit her lip,  _ Dick... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi!! Soooo... how was it?? This chapter was supposed to be a little bit of fun, while the next chapter is... a little more emotional with more screen time between multiple members of the batfamily including the children. Hope you are prepared for that.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> SuperMehr
> 
> P.S. I do not own the cookie recipe, but cookies are delicious


	5. They Really Are Just Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So you’re probably wondering how I got in this situation. Well, to be honest it’s all the Pollen. That’s the bottom line of it all. I mean great things have come from it, like the kids and how fast they have matured. But with every up, there’s a down. Listen, we don’t want waterworks to flood the house, so please just don’t upset the kids. Plus, don’t you know who their mother is? No one messes with me or my son/daughter. 
> 
> The one where we learn a little more about the villain plan and dive deeper into... feelings. Oh and maybe a certain someone tries to not be a ‘former boy wonder’ about the situation anymore if you catch my drift. Hint** Think of his actual nickname.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of emotion and feelings in this chapter. Kind of different from the one before Lol, but I hope you enjoy it!!

Nightwing and Batman had changed into their civvies and headed upstairs from the cave. It was still dark outside, but the sun was going to be rising soon. Bruce had just said something that really made Dick hesitate in thought for a moment. After walking through the clock door, the former Boy Wonder moved in a little more before pausing. His eyes roamed around the grand living room. The place looked like it always did. There were the giant windows that looked out into the yard, a fireplace, bookshelves filled with antique books, old decorations and photos along the walls, and the two opened giant half doors that led into the area. His sight stopped at the center of the room where he saw the large sofas that he used to always enjoy flipping off of when he was younger.

The adoptive father had been observing his son, but didn’t say any more. The younger one sighed, “do you really believe that there is something like this  _ pollen _ that can really alter that much in a person? I don’t see how that’s possible.”

Bruce stared at Dick, “anything is possible. We have seen enough to know that fact. After confirming that the factories have some connection with Ivy, does prove that Ivy is up to something.” Bruce’s eyes hardened slightly, “and Barbara would not come to us with false data.” 

Dick looked away from the Dark Knight’s stare. “Fine, say Ivy is up to something, why did she wait so long? If Barbara says what happened, happened on her last mission, why would Ivy wait to strike out? Plus, what is this pollen going to do? Ivy isn’t the type to create a plan that would take over 20, let alone 5, years.”

“She hasn’t struck out yet. We only know she escaped from Arkham…”

“That’s striking out…” Dick muttered while crossing his arms.

“And that she is transporting chemicals from one location to another. She probably has more factories, but we will have to wait until all the tests are done on the chemicals your team just gathered. But, you are right. Which gives me reason to believe that she isn’t working alone,”  _ nor does the pollen have anything to do with creating superhumans _ , Batman narrowed his eyes while in thought. _ Ivy probably doesn’t even realize this one possible outcome of the pollen. An unintended consequence. _

“What?” Dick asked, trying to think of what led Batman to this thought of Ivy having an accomplice. “Wait, you also mentioned that there has been a rise in kidnappings along the east coast. You think it’s all connected to this mission?” The detective’s son asked, referring back to the team recap meeting that occurred a few hours ago. “If Ivy is working with someone, they would have been doing all that dirty work while she was still in Arkham.”

Bruce nodded, “whoever she is working with also seems to have access to certain knowledge that only the government or police would know.”  _ That is, if the kidnappings are connected. _

Dick sighed, growing frustrated with this not-knowing game. “If Ivy and her ‘partner’ are the kidnappers, then they managed to kidnap people without the League realizing.” Batman and Nightwing knew this sort of crime happened on a regular basis, but the fact that they had not seen this slight increase of missing people bothered them. It also meant that the villains involved knew how to stay hidden. “What makes you say that this is all connected?” Dick pondered, shifting his weight. 

Bruce was silent for a minute before answering, “Barbara’s been looking into it for the past few years.” Now it was Dick’s turn to go silent.

“Why do I feel like you keep bringing Barbara into the conversation?” Dick stared at Bruce, trying to read his face. He said nothing, which caused his son to narrow his eyes. “What?”

“You should spend time with Barbara and her kids.”

“No,” Dick said before Bruce could finish what he was saying.

“It would benefit you and her.”  _ I saw what happened in the mountain,  _ Bruce thought _. _

Dick looked at Bruce as if he was joking, “how on earth would it benefit us?”

“The kids…”

Dick wanted to laugh. “Have you seen them! They clearly are fine on their own, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.” Dick stated, strongly thinking about the two little people that seemed to be on everybody’s mind. Even on the mission, they were mentioned multiple times. “Bruce,” the young man looked at his father again, “they are too smart for their own good.”

“I know that,” Bruce watched as Dick slowly started getting frustrated again. To be honest, Bruce was getting tired of this conversation. He just spoke about this with Barbara, and now with Dick, not only here but in the cave moments ago. He knew what his son was saying, but Barbara had a point. The two were only kids. Not only that, they were Barbara’s kids.

“Then you should do something about it,” Dick threw his arms up in exasperation. He couldn’t understand why Bruce didn’t see his point. The children knew how to create explosive pellets, among other things for god’s sake! That is definitely a sign for something, right?

“Like what?” The Dark Knight calmly questioned. Dick looked into Bruce’s eyes and slowly brought his arms back down.

“We need someone to watch them at all times.”

“Isn’t that what we are already doing?” Batman always knew what to say to make the former Boy Wonder stop talking and think.

“Not well enough,” Dick mumbled. Bruce slightly raised an eyebrow.

“Barbara’s watching them.” Dick scoffed at this comment, which surprised Bruce.

“Do you really think that that’s enough? Have you seen them?”  _ Why am I getting so worked up about this? It’s because she was my best friend, right? I’m just looking out for her... Right? _

“Barbara has been watching them since the beginning. If anyone knows how to deal with them, it’s her. Nothing has happened yet.”

“Key word, yet.” Dick shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. “Do you really believe that she can watch those…” He stumbled over his words, “those two? What happens when they get older? Do you really think that Barbara can control them?” 

_ If they have a future. If Barbara is right they may not… we will push that possibility to the side for now, _ Bruce thought before continuing the conversation. “‘ _ Those two’  _ are children. And control? You can’t control kids, but you can teach them to listen and understand. Have you not been watching her?”

“Yes, I have been.” As the conversation continued, Dick’s voice slowly started rising with the shift in topic. Both of their voices bounced around the room just like it did before, not too long ago in the cave. “Did you not see them earlier? She had them sparring against each other!”

“And what does that prove?”

“Why would you have your kids fight each other?!” Dick looked at Bruce with a baffled expression, “have you seen how the children act when she asks them to do something? They automatically get up and do it, like, I don’t know, like they are under mind control or something.”

“She’s their mother, why wouldn’t they listen to her?” Bruce retorted. While Nightwing may be against Barbara’s ways, Bruce did see how sparring might be a good idea for them. One, it let them get out their excess emotions and energy. Two, it taught them control, which is probably the main reason Barbara allows it. And three, there is a high chance that they will become targets, if they haven’t already. The adoptive father gave out an unnoticeable sigh. He couldn’t believe how childish Dick was acting.

“So!? I never listened to…!” 

“To who, Dick? Me? When you were younger, all you did was listen to me.” The younger man shut his mouth. “You listened to me so closely, that you would remember little side comments that I would say. When you were 11, sometime after you became Robin, I said I liked grilled steaks. The next day you went to the kitchen and tried cooking steaks for dinner.” Dick stared at his father, a little taken back that he remembered. “Children listen to those who they look up to. To make sure that their future is safe, we have to teach them.”

Dick was silent for a minute. “What does looking up to someone have to do with this?”

“Everything, Dick. If those children did not follow Barbara, the world would be in danger.”

Dick rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the father and son heard... a cry? 

The two men were shocked in place by the watery blue-green eyes of an adorable little girl standing in the giant doorway.  Kay stood in her pajamas in the entryway of the room with her hair in two pigtails and little hands trying to wipe her eyes as tears started to form. 

“Kay?” Bruce cautiously asked as he moved closer to her.

The duo watched as Kay’s breathing started getting faster as she tried controlling her crying. Slowly, her attempts started to fail as tears seeped over her eyelids and soft noises escaped her mouth. 

*****BG*****

Barbara was lying down on a bed, sleeping, in one of the many guest rooms in Wayne Manor. Trying to fall deeper, she turned onto her side to get into a more comfortable position. While she turned, she felt Jay next to her. 

The mother was about to fall back asleep when her eyes shot open. She patted the bed all around her, but could not feel Kay anywhere. Barbara looked at her son lying down peacefully, and slowly sat up. After making sure that he did not wake up, the worried mother glanced around her for her daughter. She looked by her feet and over the sides of the bed. The little girl was nowhere to be found. 

Barbara looked up towards the bathroom. She had left the light on just in case one of her kids did get up and had to go. She brushed her hair back with her hand as she carefully got off the bed to check the bathroom for the missing girl. After making sure that her son did not wake again, Barbara moved towards her mission. But before the redhead could even get to the door, she heard her little girl crying somewhere in the Manor. 

_ Oh fu...dgesicle. _

*****BG*****

Bruce and Dick watched as Kay’s small noises slowly started to grow at an exponential rate.

“Kay…” Bruce tried to move closer to her again. The older gentleman had his hands up as if he were defending himself from a bomb, which could be possible. “Try to calm down,” Bruce said slowly. Kay did her best to do as she was told, breathing in from her nose to stop herself, but the tears still kept coming. “That’s a good girl,”  _ at least she tried,  _ “now what’s wrong?”

Dick shook his head, “I’m sure Barbara’s already on her way here.”  _ She probably has a six sense for them. _ Kay looked between Dick and Bruce and started crying even harder than before. Dick was about to add another comment, but Bruce stopped him with a batglare. “What? What did I do?”

Bruce narrowed his eyes at Dick, ultimately shutting up the person on the other end of the glare. Again. He really wasn’t a fan of this habit. 

Bruce turned his attention back to the sobbing girl, but he still heard Dick’s muttered comment. “First they try to take my team, now my dad…” The leader of the Young Justice team sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He watched Bruce trying to calm Kay down, but with her crying, you could barely hear his attempts. It was definitely a sight, and Nightwing would have reveled in it more if the little girl wasn’t so distraught.

“Kay…” Bruce tried again, “come on, what’s the matter?” The two could really see Kay struggle trying to get her words out.

She sniffed really loud, “plea…” she choked over her words. “Please,” she tried again, “please don’t argue and shout at each other!” She managed to get her reason out, but it was broken between more sobs. Bruce and Dick stared at Kay in disbelief. The little girl came all the way here to tell the two grown men not to fight, which in the end led her to this waterfall of a mess. 

“Unbelievable…” Dick whispered under his breath.

Kay looked at them with eyes that seemed to have grown from the tears. “Mommy said…,” Kay took in another breath through her sobs, “mommy told us a story… a… a… and… she said… that… grandpa…” Her eyes moved to the Dark Knight. Bruce and Dick lifted an eyebrow,  _ grandpa? _ If it were not for the situation, again, Dick would have laughed. “... And… d...“ Her eyes slid to Dick, “...would shout… at… at… each other… a… and it… would make… it would make… mommy really sad…” Kay took in another breath, but her noises kept continuing. 

The dynamic duo looked at each other. “You don’t think she means when I found out about Barbara and became Nightwing?” Bruce wasn’t sure either. I mean, there were many times the two went at it. The duo looked back at Kay, her face scrunching up as if she were in pain. ‘The grandpa’ was about to press on more details, when Barbara ran into the room.

“Kay?” Barbara ran straight to her daughter, all sleep from before gone. The worried mother got down on her knees in front of the little girl. Kay stood there crying her eyes out, with her hands still trying to wipe away the nonstop tears. “Shh… Kay,” Barbara tried helping the girl wipe her tears away, “shh… Katrina… shh… mommy’s right here.” Katrina threw her arms around her mom and cried into her shoulder. The mother sighed, “I’m going to pat you on the back now,” Barbara softly spoke slowly and clearly as her hand moved, “shh… it’s going to be alright… We’re going to take some deep breaths and relax.” The mother could feel her daughter rise and fall while she took a deep breath. “We are all going to be okay…” Barbara’s voice started turning into a peaceful hum, “Katrina, can you hear the sound of my voice?” The little girl whimpered and nodded into her mother's shoulder while scrunching her mom’s shirt in her tiny hands. “That’s a good girl.” Barbara gently reached for one of Kay’s hands, and started rubbing circles in it with her thumb. “Now, Katrina, what do you feel?”

It took a second, as the group could still see the little girl’s shoulders shake. “Mommy,” it came out so delicately.

The mother chuckled softly, “beautiful. My little angel. Now,” Barbara pulled back a little so her daughter could see her eyes. The mother smiled. “What do you see?”

The little girl gave a big sniffle, “Mommy.”

“That’s right short stuff.” Barbara pushed back the hair in front of the girl’s face, wiping her tears in the process. Kay did start to quiet down, but she was still crying. Thankfully this wasn’t as bad as it could have been. “It’s alright…. think you can tell me what’s wrong?” The little girl opened her mouth, but then dug her head back into her mother’s shoulder, causing a new wave of tears, but definitely not as strong or loud as before. “Katrina?” Now Barbara was worried for sure. Her heart started beating faster.

“She said she didn’t like us shouting.” Barbara turned her head to where she heard Bruce’s voice, now noticing who else was in the room. Dick and Bruce had been standing next to each other quietly observing the scene. The two had their own thoughts about the situation, but they both noticed how slightly different Barbara seemed. It was weird but they could sense it. Dick was not really sure how to take in this caring side of Barbara. Sure she has always been warm-hearted, but there were usually some snide remarks along with it. This… This was different.

Barbara gave them a confused look, “She…?”

“My word…” Barbara, Bruce, and Dick turned their heads to the door. Alfred was standing in the doorway that led into the room with a candle in his hand and Tim and Jay slightly behind him. “Is everything alright, Miss Gordon?”

Barbara kept gently rubbing circles on Kay’s back, “she’ll be fine.” Jay slowly started coming out from behind Alfred and walked up to Barbara and Kay. Barbara’s gaze turned toward the little boy. She took one of her hands and brushed some hair out of her son’s face, “please don’t cry too...”

“I’m not crying!” Jay said while trying to discreetly wipe a tear away. Barbara smiled, and the group looked at Kay who started making noises again. Usually when one started, the other followed and they both would be nonstop for over 20 minutes. Barbara figured that the new change in environment and the people around them may have shifted that. Well, at least while they are in the present company.

“Kay, are you crying or laughing? I really can’t tell,” Barbara asked her daughter.

The little girl pulled away again and tried to smile. She took one of her little hands and wiped her nose. “I was laughing,” she attempted to say between little sobs. Barbara gave her daughter a soft smile.

“Well, now that that’s over, I do believe it is time for some of us to get ready for work. The sun is rising,” Alfred said while looking out the window. Everybody followed his gaze.

“Great, I think I can get a little more shut eye,” Tim said before stretching his arms and walking out of the room.

“And I will start making some breakfast,” Alfred said following Tim.

The room had grown quiet. All you could hear were small sniffles from Kay. Bruce, Dick, and Barbara were still looking out the windows lost in thoughts.

“I want daddy.” 

Barbara felt her heart fall.

The loving mother turned her attention to the teary eyed girl on her lap. “What was that, angel?” Barbara asked, pretty sure she must have heard wrong. Bruce, Dick, and Jay looked down at the girls.

“I want daddy…” Kay’s voice rang quieter than before as more tears fell. Barbara had no idea how to respond. She just stared at Kay, who was doing her best to stay calm. It was as if what the little girl had said froze Barbara in place. She could feel a knot forming in her throat, which has not happened in a long while. Though while being in this house, she has come close multiple times. The loving mother kept staring at her daughter until Kay was lifted from her arms. Barbara’s eyes moved to where the little pigtailed girl was, and saw Bruce carrying her as her cries were slowly coming to a stop.

Bruce glanced at Barbara and noted the lost look on her face. The Dark Knight could sense that the mother was caught off guard by what was just asked.

“Mommy…?” Jay started to ask, but was stopped when Bruce said something.

“How about you two come with ‘grandpa’, and I tuck you back in bed?” Oddly, the Dark Knight didn’t stumble over that word.

Jay reluctantly looked away from his mom and looked at Bruce, “really?” Bruce nodded, “okay, then.” Jay looked over at his mother again in slight hesitation. 

“Is that okay, Kay?” Bruce asked the little girl in his arms, who nodded into Bruce’s shoulder in response. The older gentleman gently took Jay’s hand and led the children back upstairs.

Barbara put her hands over her mouth, but still stared off into the distance. 

“Uh…” Dick started. He wasn’t really sure where to go next.

Barbara silently clasped her hands together and put them on her lap. “That’s the first time either one of them has actually said they wanted… him…” She bit her lip. 

“Barbara…?” Dick asked, a little worried.

The redhead looked out the window again. If that’s what they want, then maybe she should... Dick saw a sad smile on her face as she let out a breath.

“I have to get ready for work.” Barbara got up and left, leaving a confused Dick alone in the big empty room.

*****BG*****

Barbara came out of the connected bathroom in the guest room that she was staying in. She had just finished getting ready for work. Today, she decided to wear dark slacks and a light blue button down shirt. Before she walked out of the room with her wallet and phone in hand, she looked at the bed. Jay and Kay were lying down next to each other under the blanket. Barbara pocketed her belongings, walked up to the bed, and looked down at her twins. She moved the blanked off of their faces and smiled.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Barbara whispered to them, “love you.” The loving mother bent down and kissed both of her children before walking out.

The mother walked down the hall with her head down and let out a sigh. She tried to keep going when she almost bumped into someone. Two muscular arms stopped Barbara before she could lose her balance. The redhead was confused for a moment and looked up to see who the arms connected to. Right in front of her was none other than Richard Grayson, literally the heart of all her problems.

“Sorry, Dick, I didn’t see you there.” Barbara tried to say optimistically. She tried to move around him, but he stopped her again.

“We need to talk,” Dick put his hands in his pockets. The man watched as the same sad smile appeared on Barbara’s face.

“Listening to Bruce, are we?” Barbara chuckled. Bruce had been trying to get her to talk to the young man too, so she just assumed he told him the same. “I’m sorry, Dick, but I have to get to work.”  _ I’ve been wanting to talk to you for so long. Yet, after all that, I really don’t think I can at the moment. _

“The library doesn’t open until 7. It’s only 6:03.” The ‘pushy’ redhead let out another sigh.  _ She looks so much older for some reason. We’re still around the same age, yet, it feels like she has so much more experience than I do. It’s been five years, Dick, of course she would look older. No, not older. Mature. _

“Okay, do you mind if we talk over some coffee?” Dick nodded in agreement, and together the couple headed to the kitchen.

_ Why does it feel this way? I feel like I knew everything about you Yet these past five years, they seem to be a mystery to me. What have you really been doing? _

*****BG*****

The couple both sat on bar stools around the kitchen counter. The two had shared so many memories in this very room. From stealing cookies to trying to cook, the two really knew how to make a mess. Barbara chuckled into her mug of coffee.

Dick looked at her with one hand on his own mug, “what’s so funny?” He saw that same smile cross her face. 

“I was just thinking about all the things we used to do in here.” She took a sip from her cup. “Remember that one time we tried cooking steaks?” Barbara chuckled again.

“That seems to keep coming up today…” Dick said under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Barbara sat there waiting for Dick to say something, but they were left in silence. He was the one who wanted to talk, although she knew she could start the conversation too.

“So…” Dick started after a few minutes. “Katrina, huh?”

The redhead almost choked on her coffee. She looked at the man next to her with a little surprise, though she tried to hide it. Sure she knew that she had said Kay’s real name, but for Dick to bring this up.  _ I thought he didn’t even care about the twins. Maybe… maybe I was wrong? _ Her eyes narrowed just slightly,  _ I don’t think I’m wrong.  _ “Umm, yeah,” Dick could see her gaze on him, but he could tell they were drifting into the past. “Yeah,” she said again coming back, “an old friend of mine had mentioned that he really liked the name a long time ago, and I realized that I did too.”

“Oh,” was all Dick could say. “So.. you’ve been taking care of the twins all by yourself?” 

Dick noticed the mother’s mood shift to a slightly more positive one, “oh, well, not really. I mean, I have my dad and he has done a whole lot. I also had Alfred, and he has been just as helpful.” 

“Your father knows?” Barbara was a little taken back that he was curious, but answered anyway.

“Yea he does. I couldn’t hide it from him.” The woman’s eyes widened a bit, “not that I was trying to hide it from anybody. I mean I had my reasons not to come back and…”

“Reasons?” The man was starting to feel annoyed but tried to stay calm. “That’s all I have been hearing, yet I haven’t heard any,” he whispered the last part, but he knew she heard. He sat there with his head on the palm of his hand just staring at the woman in front of him, waiting for her to respond. _I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t she be able to tell us? Unless…_ The Dark Knight’s son’s eyes widened a little as if he was on a case. _Unless maybe her reason not to is because of someone on the team? Maybe this whole situation deals with someone on the team._ _But the question again is… who?_

“Dick,” she ran a hand through her hair, “I’m sorry but it’s still not the right time.” The man could see a slightly pained look on Barbara’s face.  _ I’m sorry Dick. Maybe I could tell you now… but back then… It would have been bad. It would have caused unnecessary problems and… the team, our team, didn’t need that back then. Especially not with the off world missions. _

“Can you stop doing that?”

Her eyes shot up questioning, “doing what?”

“That thing with your hair. You keep running your hand through it. It really stresses me out.”

“What? It’s my hair, Dick, I can do whatever I want to it.”

“Yeah, but it's so distracting. It’s like you want to say something, but then don't and instead do…” he tried to mimic her, “that.”

She laughed, “okay hotshot, says the guy who could never sit still.”

He gestured to how he was stationed, “my leg isn’t tapping away now is it?”

“You’re unbelievable.” The two laughed again.

After a moment, he sighed, “for not saying much,” he paused, “you must have a really good reason.”  _ I guess I could do some research and figure it out. I mean, I have Katrina’s name now and that's pretty unique. Katrina Gordon? But… Do I really want to know the answer? _ “I still think that maybe you should tell their biological father about it. I mean, I would want to know if I had kids.” The redhead mentally winced as she set her mug carefully on the counter, the playful energy slowly disappearing again.

The redhead studied his eyes. “If I…” she licked her lips, “if I told you, you were the father how would you… respond?”

“But I’m not…”

“Hypothetically speaking.”

He nodded. He knew when it was time to joke around and when not to. This was definitely one of those ‘not to’ situations. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. How would he react?

“It’s Bruce isn’t it? It’s okay, Babs, you can tell me.” The redhead punched him in the arm. Maybe it was a ‘not to’ situation, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to. He rubbed his arm where she hit him, “dang, Babs, your punches still hurt.”

She rolled her eyes. Barbara looked at him again and really looked at him. His hair was a little longer than he used to keep it, almost at an awkward point as if deciding if it should grow longer or be trimmed. His blue eyes were the same crystal clear eyes, and he was just as fit and as confident as ever. “Would you really have wanted to know?” She whispered. She knew once this door was opened, there was no turning back. But maybe it was time to open up. Slowly though. Plus, Dick just had this aura that made you want to keep talking. She took a deep breath. “At that time…” the boy in front of her leaned in a little to make sure he did not miss anything, “he had a serious girlfriend.”

Whatever he thought she would say, that was definitely not it. “Barbara, you didn’t?” He said a little shocked, as she outwardly winced.

“I know, I know… I felt like I knew what was going on back then, but I didn’t comprehend the situation fully until after I found out I was pregnant.” Barbara stopped and took a sip of her coffee. “How could I ruin his relationship?” She spoke to herself more than to him. Her cup hovered by her lips as she got lost in her thoughts.

“And…?” Dick pressed, having forgotten his own cup of coffee. He realized he was a bit forceful when he saw the girl in front of him stiffen. “Sorry,” he muttered, backing off a bit. Her mouth curved up slightly at the apology, but it didn’t really reach her eyes.

“And that’s it. I figured that if the pollen messed with my mind, it must have messed with his. I don’t think… I don’t even think he remembers anything. Like anything at all.” She moved to run her hand through her hair again, but paused remembering their earlier conversation and reached for her mug instead. 

“But,” Dick ruffled the hair on the back of his head, “he still cheated on his girlfriend.” The dark haired man in the kitchen watched the redhead in front of him stare into her endless pool of coffee.

“That’s true I guess.”

As Barbara was finishing her cup, something occurred to Dick. He looked towards the lady next to him and tried to study the situation, “why are you telling me all of this?”

Barbara moved the cup from her face. “That’s because…”  _ out of everyone, you deserve to know,  _ “you’re my best friend.” The man said nothing as Barbara grabbed her cup and walked over to the sink to wash it. Dick got up from where he was, leaving his full cup, following her. He stopped just behind his best friend.

“There was something…” He started.

The girl in front of him turned her head slightly back to look at him. She knew he had trailed her, but she hadn’t realized how close he was. Barbara gave him a small encouraging smile, “go ahead.”

“I…” He didn’t really know how to voice his millions of thoughts and concerns, “It’s just that… I don’t think I’m a fan of the way you are raising them.” That was definitely not the way to voice anything. Even Nightwing knew that wasn’t what he should have said, but something inside him wanted to snap. The way she so easily called him his best friend, but he didn’t even know that she was a freaking parent. These feelings were weird, and didn’t feel like him at all. He knew he wanted to be close with Barbara, but he also felt a wall between them. At this point, he wasn’t really sure who put it up. Barbara nearly dropped her mug in the sink.

“Excuse me?” She questioned politely turning around to give him her full attention and trying to fully understand the meaning of his question. He could see her eyes reinforcing that wall.

“What I mean is,” Dick tried to think of a way to softly explain what he was trying to say, “It can get really dangerous. I just don’t get how you let them play with explosives and spar against each other? It doesn’t seem... right? If you know that they are overly smart and what not, why didn’t you keep them away from all of that stuff?” The former Boy Wonder didn’t mean to let all of these questions slip, but they did anyway. He wanted to understand the situation. He really did. But for some reason, his sentences were not coming out as smoothly as they usually do. His heart was beating too fast. The questioned mother’s mouth opened wider in shock with each passing inquiry. “I mean…”

“Dick, it’s a parent’s job to make sure that their children are safe. I’m doing the best that I can. I know that some of the things they are doing are dangerous, but if I did not give them permission to do those things, they would do them behind my back. Not to be against being told what to do, but because they are crazy curious. And with sparring, there are parents who put their kids in martial arts at a very young age. Honestly, they need it for their mental health. But in any case, what’s better? To let my kids do things without me knowing? Or with me knowing, where I could monitor what they are making or planning and stopping them if it goes too far?”

He could feel his emotions getting darker as he raised his eyebrows as the next words slipped out of his mouth, “how about stopping them totally?” Barbara could not believe the person in front of her, as he tried to bite his tongue back. She knew she hurt him, but still.

“Dick,” Barbara lightly shook her head, “is that even possible?” Her voice grew softer, “whenever we were forbidden from doing things, didn’t we still find ways to do them? What about when Alfred told us not to go up some of the many staircases in this house to find the roof?” Barbara could tell that it would take a lot of work to convince this vigilante, but she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes. “In the end, we still managed to make it to the roof, but we found a different way up. Do you remember that?” 

He shifted his weight, “Yeah, I remember. We climbed through the windows.”

She nodded. “Though we listened to Alfred and didn’t take the stairs, we still got in so much trouble.” Dick gave Barbara a slightly confused look. “My point is, is that you can never totally stop children, or anyone, from doing what they want.”

“Then lay down the law.” _ Why was Dick so against this? _

The redhead let out a sigh, “think about it this way. With our background, how would you raise your children? Would it even be possible, especially with their intellect?” The man in question didn’t say a word. “If you really want to ‘lay down the law’, you should tell them,” Barbara said while looking at her watch.

“Why?” Dick questioned, a little taken back. He could feel his growing anger slowly recede. It took a lot for him to get this riled up, but honestly he didn’t know why it was happening. It was like the female’s presence and name put his body on all different types of edges. He felt like he was hanging from a cliff, trying to figure out the best way to pull himself up. Barbara looked at the former Boy Wonder again. She stared directly into his eyes, fore she wanted this message to be clear to him.

“They will listen to you. They look up to you, more than you know.” His eyes widened a fraction. “Plus, in their worshipping eyes, you can’t do or say anything wrong,” the tired mother muttered under her breath. “Listen I gotta go. Thanks for the coffee.” Dick nodded, having grown quiet. “I’ll see you later.” Barbara started walking out but hesitated at the door, “once… once this whole mission is over. I’ll get out of here. I’ll be out of your life for good.” The male best friend watched as the strong headed redhead walked out of the kitchen towards the direction of the front door. The young man stood there for a few minutes longer even after he heard the door shut. 

“Why would the children look up to me? Especially after how I’ve acted?” Dick questioned while running a hand through his hair and making his way back upstairs.

*****BG*****

Dick walked up the stairs and passed the room that led to the sleeping twins. After moving by the opened door, he backtracked a little and went inside. The young vigilante stared at the two sleeping figures on the bed. He just stared at them. The little girl definitely had calmed down, and she still had her dark red-brown hair up in pigtails. The two looked extremely innocent sleeping like that. Well, they are innocent. They can’t help how they are, nor can Barbara.  _ Oh crap _ . Dick let out a sigh.

“Why do I always seem to get frustrated when I talk to... your m…,” he took in a breath, “...Babs?” Dick started, not really sure why he was asking the two sleeping kids. “She really can be an intense woman, though.”

“That’s true, but if she wasn’t, it would be really hard for us to survive.” Dick’s eyes widened as he saw Jay’s open suspiciously looking at him.

“What do you mean?” The confused man asked after overcoming the shock that one of them was awake.

“Mommy has been raising the two of us practically alone. She doesn’t like burdening people, so she doesn’t ask for help in anything. Honestly, I don’t understand how mommy’s been surviving with her schedule. I’ve really looked into it in books and all, and I really think it is bad for her health.” Jay stopped his muttering and then looked up to Dick, staring into eyes similar to his own. “But you of all people must know what it means to be up all the time working,” it wasn’t a question. 

“Wait, back up. What do you mean by ‘surviving with her schedule’?” The former Boy Wonder questioned the little boy and absentmindedly sat on the edge of the bed. “That’s a weird choice of words.”

Jay took a minute debating about answering the man in front of him. The little boy could tell that the blue eyed man was genuinely curious. And so, he would let him off the hook and answer... for now. 

The male of the twins sat up a little with his dark hair in a mess and a hand on his chin, “well, mommy’s been…”

“Stressing over many things.”

“Kay?” The older of the twins asked his little sister. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine. I’m okay now,” the girl said while opening and rubbing her tired blue-green eyes.

“But yea, as Kay said, mommy has been stressing over things, but she is good at hiding it.”

“It took us a long while to realize it,” Kay sadly added.

“What has she been doing?” Dick questioned.

Jay looked down at Kay, who was still lying down. The younger sibling nodded her head a little as if telling him to go on. “Mommy has been trying to get a better job than the library one.”

“A better paying job,” the only girl in the room further remarked.

“So, she has been in school for a really long time now. We don’t know what mommy is trying to accomplish other than trying to get a better job, but we do know that she has it mostly planned out. But the thing is, she has to pay for her classes as well.”

“What about Commissioner Gordon?”

“Like Jay said, mommy doesn’t like burdening people.”

Jay nodded, “Grandpa Jim,” Dick raised an eyebrow, “has been giving mommy money whenever he can, but mommy doesn’t always take it.”

“But then Grandpa Jim and mommy made a deal that Grandpa would pay for mommy’s class funds.”

“Which was good and all, but mommy never tells Grandpa Jim if she switches courses or if she needs money for textbooks or other school related things. Besides, even though Grandpa Jim is the commissioner, he doesn’t get paid as much as you would think.” Jay glared at the air in front of him.

“And mommy doesn’t want to go into his savings account or retirement money or anything.” 

The former Boy Wonder smirked, “Commissioner Gordon retiring? I don’t see it.”

The little boy scoffed, “neither does mommy, but she hopes one day that he will. So mommy pays for extra class stuff, and she has to take care of all of us alongside it.” Dick took note that the little boy kept opening and closing his hands as he talked, almost like a coping mechanism.

“Mommy has been saving money to put us into a good school, too. Though we aren’t sure how that will work since we know so much already, but mommy keeps telling us that we still have a lot to learn,” Kay said with a pout.

“Wow, and she has to pay for food and housing and everything too.” Dick noticed Jay steal a quick glance at Kay.

“Well, not exactly…” the girl started but stopped, not really sure how to continue. Dick knew he was pressing on sensitive subjects, but hey, Bruce wanted him to hangout with the kids more. Even Barbara told him to talk to them.

“Just say it. Your mom won’t get mad at you.” The twins looked at each other again and nodded. Honestly, if Dick asked, they would have answered anything.

“You see, GG… uh, GG Alfred kind of gave us a house,” Jay tried to explain.

“He… Did you say GG Alf… He did what?” Dick asked shocked.

“We don’t know fully what happened, but mommy’s also been trying to pay GG back, too. So, I guess you could say that we have been paying for our house. But because of all of these financial problems, mommy works throughout the whole day.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be Barbara if she didn’t go all in,” the dark haired man commented.

“Yeah,” Jay continued, not as hesitant as he was before, “mommy is either at work or at school between 6 or 7 through 6 or 7. She does come home in between that time to eat and hang out with us or pick us up to stay with her, but still. Lots of times we actually just go with her to school and work. After we all would come home, mommy would hang out with us some more until we had to sleep. And after she puts us to sleep, she goes and does homework or stuff she has to get done for the library. And I have a feeling she does some other stuff that she doesn’t want us to know about, like how mommy got that information about Ivy,” Jay muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed about something.

“Mommy tries to hide the fact that she does more work after she puts us to sleep. Sometimes I feel mommy come into bed around four in the morning, but there are other times where she doesn’t sleep at all.”

“So, yeah,” Jay nodded, “mommy has to be intense sometimes. But not so heavy on the tense, though.”

Dick looked at the young boy and started to chuckle. Dick could not believe that somehow this kid took up his old habit of emphasizing certain parts of words nor could he believe how hard Barbara has been working. It seemed laughable that he had never noticed. How had he never decided to at least push further whenever he bumped into her these past five years? Sure it was a rare occasion, but that should have sparked something. 

The siblings seemed a little taken back with the man’s laugh. “True, I guess.” Dick’s laughter slowed as he thought about what Barbara had to do to survive. If she had just told him, he would have helped her. For goodness sake, his adoptive dad is Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprise. They had the money to support her. All she had to do was ask. But then again, she was Barbara. She would never ask for such a thing. She would give up all the money in the world to protect the ones she loves. In this case, protect them from what, though?

“Master Dick?” The children and Dick turned their attention to the door. There, they see Alfred and Bruce standing by the door. “Is everything alright?”

Dick smiled and looked at the two kids, who slowly smiled back at him. “Yeah, GG,” he smirked, “I think we are going to be alright.” The young man got up from the bed and stretched his arms above his head. Dick turned and started heading for the door, “we were just talking, Alfred.” Alfred was in a state of shock as his young master walked past him but smiled in the end.

Dick had walked down the hall, but paused once he knew he was out of earshot from the room. “You heard the whole conversation didn’t you?” Bruce, who had followed behind him, said nothing. “Of course you did.” Dick turned around to look at his father. 

“Whatever you think you’re doing, be careful.” The young man raised an eyebrow at Bruce’s comment.

“What? I’m doing what you asked. I’m spending time with them.” Bruce narrowed his eyes and walked up to his son.

“Just in case something happens, the kids need someone else to look up to,” Batman whispered towards the former Boy Wonder, hinting at much darker thoughts. Dick looked at his father with confusion.

“What…?”

“Don’t crush their hearts by pretending, Dick.” Bruce stared into his son’s eyes.

“I’m not pretending,” the young man said with confidence and returned the intense gaze.

Bruce almost smirked. “Prove it,” the Dark Knight said before walking away.

*****BG*****

It was at a charity gala. It was another big function where a famous piece of artwork, in this case a fancy vase, was being auctioned off. All proceeds would be donated to some orphanage in Gotham.

“Wait! Wait up!” A redheaded girl in a cute red dress shouted while running after her companion, a dark haired boy in a blue suit.

He started laughing, “come on Babs! Hurry up!”

“Wait, you’re about to...!” The boy turned his head trying to hear the girl but bumped into something in front of him, “bump into someone…” The redhead ran up to her friend and helped him up. 

The boy started dusting himself off, “sorry about that. I didn’t see where I was going,” he said sheepishly to someone, trying to play the cute card.

“See, this is what can happen in the future.” The two kids looked at each other before looking up to the person who spoke. There was a couple standing in front of them. It seemed that the boy in the blue suit bumped into a man. The man ruffled the boy's hair, “just be careful next time, okay?” The man turned his attention back to his partner, who was in a dark maroon dress with a black shawl over her shoulders. “Just think, when our child is born, we will be able to run around and play with them.” The man, who happened to be wearing a navy blue suit, went to his wife and took her hands in his. “We shouldn’t be afraid of these complications, just think of the outcome. We will still be able to play.” 

The lady in the maroon dress smiled at her husband, “I guess you’re right.” The lady looked down at the children and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Thank us?” The little boy asked.

“Umm, excuse me, but are you going to be having a baby?” The girl in the red dress asked the couple. 

The boy looked at his friend with shock in his eyes, “what?!”

The couple in front of them chuckled at the kids. The woman nodded her head yes, but the man answered. “Yes,” he put a finger to his lips, “but don’t tell anyone alright?”

The redheaded girl clasped her hands together, “congratulations!”

“Oh, uh, congratulations, and don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone! We’re good at keeping secrets,” the boy said while fist bumping the air, a little cocky.

“That’s so cool!” The girl continued, “do you know if it's going to be a girl or a boy?”

The older woman chuckled, “not yet, but I think we want to keep it a surprise. We already have a son, so I’m hoping it’s a girl,” the woman winked at the kids.

It was the man’s turn to chuckle, “oh really?” The woman looked at her husband and smiled.

“Have you thought of any names?!” the girl in red really seemed excited by all of this.

The couple looked at each other then down at the two children. “Hmm…” the wife started, “well our son’s name is Tim…”

“We haven’t really thought about it,” the husband said while in thought and looking towards his wife.

“Katrina.” The red dressed girl and the couple in front of them looked at the young boy. The boy shrugged, “what? My mom one time said that if I was born a girl, I could have been named that.” The little boy smiled at his friend and put both his hands behind his head, “besides I like that name.” 

The little girl smiled back, “mhm!”

“Thank you all for coming here tonight…” The group looked down the hall to the main room.

“Oh, Babs come on, it’s starting!” The girl looked confused as the boy shouted, “Come on!” while grabbing her hand. Together, they ran to the main ballroom leaving the married couple behind.

The female of the two chuckled into her hand, “they were quite cute weren’t they?”

The guy sighed, “yes they were.” He held his arm out and looked at his wife, “shall we?” The lady in the maroon dress and the man in the navy blue suit walked arm in arm to the main room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... how was it??  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it, thanks for reading!
> 
> To be honest, this chapter was kind of hard to really get down the emotions. I felt like I made Dick go back and forth with his feelings about the situation a lot, but I hope it looks like a single track mind and works? I'm not really sure... But hope you liked it :)
> 
> <3 SuperMehr


	6. oh, oh... OH!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously in Pollen:  
>  Barbara, AKA Batgirl, had disappeared for five years. But she wasn’t alone. Apparently, she had been raising her twins, Jay and Kay. Now that the teams finally know about them, questions and arguments keep coming up. How did this happen? Is Ivy working with someone? Who exactly is the father?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you’re… okay guys I just need a break…
> 
> The one where Barbara has a father-daughter conversation.

Barbara walked up the concrete steps and through the glass doors of the Gotham City’s Police Department that she knew so well. Officers were hustling through, minding their own business, though a few familiar faces gave her acknowledging nods. Gotham police, as busy as ever. 

“Barbara?” The redhead turned her head following the sound of the gruff voice who called her, and gave a small smile.

“Detective Bullock, it's been a while.”

“It has been, you need to stop by more. How are those little munchkins of yours?” 

The mother chuckled, “good. Sometimes tiring, but good.” 

“Ah, kids. It doesn’t get any easier.” Bullock gave a hearty laugh, which Barbara could not help but join.

“So I’ve heard. Is my dad in?” The female looked around, but still hadn’t spotted the commissioner.

“He’s in his office,” the detective nodded towards a closed door with the legendary Gordon name on it.

The redhead felt the corner of her lip go up again, “thank’s Bullock.”

“No prob., I just hope you realize what you’re getting yourself into.” The female raised an eyebrow wondering what Bullock was hinting at. “I’ll see you later Barb. It’s time for me to get out of this black hole.” The man pat the girl on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile before walking out into the strangeness of Gotham.

Barbara was still a little confused, but she carried on with her mission. The female walked passed officers’ metal desks to her father’s shut door, where she could hear muffled voices on the other side. The redhead looked at her watch. It was just after five. Earlier this morning, after whatever that was with Dick happened, she got a call from her father asking her to stop by after work. It seemed kind of out of the blue. She bit her lip. The others have been watching over her kids for far too long. She didn’t want to burden them with that responsibility. 

The female eyed the door with her blue eyes before knocking. The sound on the other side of the wood tapered at the noise. Barbara put her hand on the handle, slightly pushed the door, and peeked her head through. She looked around the slightly cluttered room and saw her father before a man with fiery red hair. 

“Oh good, Barbara, you made it.” The female straightened up and walked through the door towards her father, taking her father’s words as an invitation in.

“Well, I couldn’t ignore an order from the commissioner.” 

“Come on, Barb,” the girl laughed as she walked up to Jim, and gave him a hug. 

“Dad, how are you?”

“Good, work is as busy as ever. How are you doing? How are my little grandkids?”

Barbara pulled back from the hug so she could see her father’s face, “I’m fine dad, and the kids are as wonderful as always.” Commissioner Gordon’s face lit up with a warming smile.

“Barb, this here is Lev Titov, he transferred here from Central City a week ago.”

Barbara turned to the other redhead and shook his held out hand, “Barbara Gordon.”

“Lev Titov, pleasure to make your acquaintance.” 

Barbara raised an eyebrow. “So, Central City, huh? That’s pretty far from Gotham.”

“Central was getting kind of boring and slow,” he casually said with a shrug.

“Well, let me be one of the first to tell you that Gotham is a city that never sleeps, so you will for sure never be bored.”

Gordon nodded in approval, “well, this is good.”

“What’s that dad?” Barbara asked as she let her hand fall back to her side.

“Never-mind, I called you here to ask you a question.”

“Sure, yeah, of course, what is it? Is it that important that it couldn’t have been asked over the phone?”

“Is it that bad that I wanted to see my baby girl?”

The girl let out a sigh, “dad…”

“And, I wanted to know if you were free for dinner this Saturday.”

“Yeah, daddy, I can schedule to be free that night. What did you have in mind? I’m sure the kids would…”

“Excellent.” Gordon placed a hand on Lev’s shoulder. “See, I told you she would be able to make time.”

“Dad?” Barb tried to respectfully question cautiously.

“It’s a date, you and my daughter will go for dinner this Saturday, at Remini’s on North and Main. I heard it’s really good Italian, but I haven’t gotten myself to go. What do you say officer?”

Lev gave an awkward smile, “sounds good, Commissioner,” shrugging in Barbara’s direction when the Commissioner looked away.

“Good, now you get going and finish up so you can leave. It’s almost the end of your shift.” 

“Yes, sir. Commissioner,” Lev turned to head out. “Miss Gordon,” he said with a nod before disappearing through the door. The female nodded back in response, but the door had already shut behind the man. Barbara turned to her father.

“Dad! What do you think you’re doing?”

“What?”

“You just set me up on a date!”

“Barbara, you need someone in your life.”

“I have plenty of people in my life. I have you and the kids.”

“And what about when I’m not here?”  
“Dad, don’t talk like that.”  
“No, Barb, I mean, maybe I’ll go out of town,” Barbara gave him a look, “You need someone else in your life who will watch over you and the kids.”

“I think I am doing fine on my own, daddy.”

“You are doing an incredible job on your own. But you can’t be alone forever. It’s just one date, Barb. If you don’t like him, you don’t have to go on another one. So please, go on this date. I’ll watch over the kids. We haven’t had some alone grandpa-grandkids time in awhile anyway. This will be good for all of us. You will be doing me a favor.”

Barbara suddenly felt tired. She let out a sigh, “okay, dad, but just this one date, okay?”

“That’s all I ask.”

Barbara just stared at her father. How could he pull something like this on her and guilt trip her, after, with her kids. She let out another sigh, “so, where is some of that Chinese you were saving for me? You know, you shouldn’t be eating out all of the time. It really isn’t healthy.”

***BG***

Barbara walked out of her father’s office half an hour later. As she moved towards the exit of the department, she saw Lev collecting his things at one of the desks. She bit her lip for a second before walking up to him.

Lev noticed motion in the corner of his eye, and looked up as the female stopped in front of him.

“Hi,” Barbara awkwardly started off.

“Hi,” he responded back curiously.

“I’m sorry about my dad putting you through this.”

Lev straightened up and gave a playful smirk, “Like you said, can’t disobey the Commissioner.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I was joking. Anyway, don’t worry about it. Besides, I get a date with a pretty lady out of this.”

Barbara gave him a perplexed look, trying to figure him out. “Are looks everything to you?” She had no idea where that question came from.

“No,” he hurriedly said, “I was just stating the obvious.” Barbara nodded her head once, thinking of a guy in black and blue who was just as smooth.

“Uh… Thank you.” The redhead gave a small smile to dissipate the awkwardness. A thought occurred to Barbara, “Actually, could I get your number?”

Lev raised an eyebrow, “well this is definitely the strangest way I have gotten someone’s number.” The man picked up the phone on his desk, unlocked it, and handed it to Barbara. Quickly, she added her number and texted herself. 

After handing the phone back, she checked to make sure she got the message. “Stranger than having your boss set you up on a date?”

“No, that’s pretty strange too. I’m experiencing all new experiences while here in Gotham. Guess I ‘will never be bored’.” He smiled. Barbara was kind of touched that he just quoted her.

“Well, if you want to back out of this at any time, let me know. A lot of guys probably would if they were in your position.”

“I’m not like ‘a lot of guys’,” the female raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, then what are you like?” Was she flirting?

“Guess you will have to find out on Saturday.” Smirk.

“Guess I will.” The two just stared at each other in an atmosphere Barbara had not felt in a long while. It seemed fiery, almost challenging. 

“Well, It was nice meeting you Miss Gordon...”

“Barbara.”

He nodded his head, “Well, it was nice meeting you, Barbara. And I look forward to seeing you this weekend.”

Barbara nodded her head in response just like she had not too long ago, though this time he could see, “likewise.” The female felt the corners of her mouth turn up, before walking out of the department with more complex thoughts than ever. 

Because for some reason, she felt that her heart may have skipped a beat.

***BG***

By the time Barbara made it back to Wayne Manor, it was 6:25 pm. She turned off her car, sat back in her seat and stared at the Manor doors. There has never been a day where this huge place hasn’t taken her breath away. This lived in home has been there for years and years, yet it still looks new. Guess that’s all thanks to Alfred. 

The Manor has someone to look after it day by day, just like her kids and even the team. Would her kids grow up to look strong and new? Can the team keep on staying strong after it's been worn down with each and every mission? They should but, something seems off about their set up. Something’s changed. The connection that was there seems to be weaker than back in the day when Barbara was on the team. They are doing fine and all, but they seem to be sticking to themselves. They would be so much stronger if they worked together in a more team like way. Each member is a pillar supporting each other. Just like this building in front of Barbara. 

The tired female ran a hand through her red hair. “What am I thinking?” She let out a sigh and slouched down in her chair. “And seriously, what was dad thinking! He knows how little free time I can manage…” Barbara looked out of her side window into the dark night. “But… maybe he’s right. He usually always is. Babs, I thought you already worked this out.” 

She let out another sigh. “I need to get back in a happy mood. I don’t think I left those two with happy thoughts. I can’t let any of this, like this morning, get to me. You knew this would happen, B, especially since we are practically staying at his house.” 

The tired mother placed her hand on the cold window. “Would things be easier if you remembered? I guess so, but it would change so much… And… and, I don’t think I could handle it. Maybe it's the thought of being rejected… Guess I’m still a coward, huh.” Barbara stared at herself through the side view mirror and tried to go for a smile. She chuckled, “there’s a start.”

The redhead jumped as she heard knocking on the passenger window. She looked outside the window and saw Alfred peering in on her. 

“Miss Gordon? Are you alright?” Leave it to Alfred to catch you at the strangest times. The girl’s fake smile turned into a real one as she nodded and opened the car door.

“Yea, just got lost in admiration of the Manor. I will never understand how you manage to keep it in tiptop shape.”

“It's a trade secret, my dear. Now, shall we go inside? There is a slight chill in the air.”

Barbara looked at the man who managed to do so much despite his age. “Yes, we shall.” Alfred nodded and led the way to the steps of the Manor.

“Miss Gordon?”

“Yes Alfred?”

“I have seen many things throughout my lifetime and spent a lot of time with this family and the ‘extended’ family. I apologize for possibly stepping out of line, but I think it would be most beneficial to tell him...”

“Alfred,” the female cut him off, “one, you have every right to step out of line as much as you want. And two, it’s... it’s not that simple.”

“That may very well be true, however, I believe it would not only be a relief for you, but to your children as well.” The butler turned around as they reached the door. “Do keep in mind what this is doing to them.” Barbara stared into Alfred’s eyes and hesitantly nodded her head. The old man was right after all. 

The two are just kids, and mentally this could be affecting them... a lot. Whatever happens during childhood can change who one becomes. Look at Bruce, or even Dick, for example. They watched their parents die and look where they are today. Vigilantes trying to save the city. Barbara frowned. She had her hardships too as a kid. Her parents went through a divorce after all. Not only that, but also her brother was ripped away from her. The two had always been together until those papers came around. She wouldn’t want her kids to go through all of that pain or any pain for that matter. But wasn’t that the point of why she didn’t tell the team? 

After the two were born, she shut herself off from them. She knew her children were different, and she knew that if some villains heard about them, they could go after them. Maybe not now, but definitely in the future. Especially if they learn the connections the children have to the batfamily. Life would be dangerous for her kids. 

They needed to be raised in a steady environment, especially with how they react with their emotions. There were some really crazy weeks where the kids would not stop crying day after day. Honestly, no one can forget how crazy their terrible twos were either. Most of the time, they were incredible, but if they got pushed the wrong way, things would get very difficult. Even now, they have gotten better at controlling themselves, but if something disastrous happens, it could get really bad. This made Batgirl remember that she should probably re-have the talk with them about how serious crime fighting is and why she forbids them from stepping foot in that area. The bottom line is that she did the things that she did for her kids. She had to keep reminding herself that. 

Now that she thought about it, she probably should not tell her kids about this date. The mother had been on previous ones before, however those dates tended to get ‘explosive’ once the kids found out.

Alfred led the way to the famed clock, down to the batcave.

“Uh, Alfred, where are my kids?” The redhead had been lost in thought, blindly following the butler.

“Master Tim decided to take them to the mountain.” Barbara stopped in her tracks. The light from the batcomputer reflected off of her face.

“He did what now, Alfred?”

“Master Tim took your children to the mountain.” Alfred turned around to her with a inquisitive look. “Is there something the matter?” There were a few questions that she wanted to ask the butler, but she stuck to a simple one.

“I’m just… Bruce was ok with this?” Alright, somewhat simple. After yesterday’s talk with the Dark Knight, she wasn’t 100 percent sure where the man stood.

“Master Bruce did not deny Tim’s request.”

“And Dick?” 

“Master Dick,” Alfred paused, “had other matters to attend to in Bludhaven.” As he said this, Alfred handed Barbara a pamphlet that she subconsciously took, distracted by her own thoughts.

“Dick isn’t with the team? It’s Friday, though. Doesn’t he do those team bonding training sessions?” The butler started walking towards the batcave’s zeta tube.

“Things had become quite busy throughout Gotham, Bludhaven, and other locations that needed Master Dick’s attention during those scheduled meetings. I believe those lessons, as you would say, fell through.” 

“Wait, what? How long ago did they stop?” Things were starting to slowly click in Batgirl’s mind. How can a team work well if they haven’t been bonding? I mean sure they have been with each other for years, but sometimes one needs a change of environment to really know how to work together.

“Not too long after you left.” The two had made it in front of the tubes and the female bat put her passcode into the codepad.

“I don’t understand how Dick or Bruce could let those stop? Those were beneficial to how the team works in the field,” she said as she had started walking through the beam. It explained why the team members seemed off when fighting together. They were fighting by themselves, not with each other. Her and Nightwing used to have a ton of team techniques together that saved their butts countless numbers of times. 

“After you left, a lot of things changed around here,” were the last words Batgirl heard from Alfred before disappearing into Mount Justice.

***BG***

_ Recognized Batgirl B16 _

No one ran to greet her this time. As Barbara walked out of the beam into the empty mission room, she heard laughter and voices from the living room. Curiously, she followed the noise. Barbara stood there and crossed her arms, still holding the pamphlet, with an eyebrow raised as she saw the group sitting in a circle.

“It’s morning,” Tim said as everyone raised their heads. “One person was killed last night…”

“I hope not literally,” the redhead interrupted. Jay and Kay turned their heads to their mother.

“Mommy, come play with us! We’re playing Mafia!” the duo exclaimed in unison. 

“Mafia?” Barbara looked at Tim.

“These guys may look like kids, but they haven’t lost yet and we’ve been playing for hours,” Beast Boy said as he fell onto his back, lying on the floor.

“Well, working together usually increases those odds,” Barbara laughed. “Hopefully they didn’t cheat in this one.”

Beast Boy sat up and pointed at Impulse, “wait! That bug she hit on your shoulder wasn’t actually a bug was it?! You signaled to your brother! That’s cheating!” The little girl in question shrugged as her brother hid a smirk.

“I was so confused why she did that,” Impulse said thinking back shrugging, “I thought that was just something you guys do in this time period.”

“Why would we hit someone on the shoulder?”

“Well you guys do those weird fist touching thing.”

“A fist bump.”

“Is that really what it’s called?”

“As fun as this game is,” Cassie started, “is there something else we could do?”

The team members looked at each other trying to come up with something. In the end, all eyes fell on Barbara.

“What? You think I have an idea?”

“Well,” Tim responded and shrugged. 

“Well,” Barbara replied to Tim as she glanced down at the pamphlet that Alfred had handed her. “I do have one idea, but we are gonna have to partner up. Buddy system.”

***BG***

They arrived outside the carnival in Happy Harbor less than an hour later. 

“Alright guys, this is a training exercise.” Batgirl turned around and looked at the team dressed in civvies. “Since you guys voted on it, we are gonna do classic boys against girls. So that means Conner, Rob, Gar, Bart, Jaime, and Mal are one team and the other is M’gaan, Cass, Karen, Rocket, and Zatanna. Thank you by the way for joining us last minute Raquel and Z.”

“Any time Barb, we could use a break,” Zatanna responded looking super excitedly towards the ferris wheel.

“And M’gaan, you sure La’gaan couldn’t make it?”

“He said he had something to do in Atlantis.”

“Okay,” Barbara nodded her head. “I know the teams seem uneven, but you all have your strengths and weaknesses. Now the rules.” 

Zatanna and Rocket moved towards Conner as Barbara started explaining how their training session would go down.

“So,” the magician started, “I’m curious. What convinced you to come?”

“Yea, you seemed totally against her rejoining the team,” Rocket chimed.

Superboy stood there looking towards Batgirl as she was explaining the rules. “She hasn’t rejoined. But she also has some merit in what she says about the team. I’ve noticed it too.” The girls nodded in agreement. They have heard about a lot more injuries coming off the field lately. 

“So, you’re just here to see where this takes the team.” Superboy nodded.

“And here I thought you came to see what a carnival is like in person,” Rocket shrugged. “Have you ever been to one?” Conner smirked a little.

“It’s basically capture the flag, but I’m gonna hide ‘the flag’, and both teams will only have two hours to find it.” Barbara continued on. The mother held out a circular metal device and tossed it to Jay who easily caught it. He then pushed a small button on one side of the device, while Kay pushed another on the opposite side. A mini spotlight opened displaying a hologram of a flag. “Find it, show me the flag like they just did, and then you win.” Batgirl walked over to Kay, taking the device back. When the twins let go, the flag disappeared. “Alright so before we split up, which of my children do you want on which team? They can be very helpful.” Some of the group members chuckled, but the mother seemed pretty serious.

“Well, it is boys versus girls,” M’gaan had started to say, but Katrina had another idea. Instead, she skipped her way towards Tim and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer to her.

“Uhh,” Tim looked super baffled, as Barbara raised an eyebrow.

“I guess this means that Kay will be with the boys and Jay will be with the girls. Kay and Jay, please be careful with each other.” 

“Wha!? us?” They both shouted, “we would never do anything to hurt each other.” 

Barbara glared at them, “I’m serious guys.”

“Come on mommy. We aren’t little kids.” Kay started. 

“At least I’m not,” Jay scoffed causing Kay to pout. “Don’t worry so much mom, it’s only gonna hurt when Kay loses.”

“Hey!”

“It’s okay, Kay,” Tim bent down on one knee to look at her. “We got this. He’s just trying to mess with your head.”

“Yea, piece of cake,” Bart gave Gar a high five.

Kay looked at them and gave a sincere smile, “thank you for your optimism.”

“Jay, that was a little too far. Remember, it’s siblings first. Now, before we all split up, don’t forget the buddy system.” Barbara eyed Tim, who tightened his grip a little on Kay’s hand, and M’gaan, who caught Jay’s.

“Let’s do this,” Cass said ready to enter the adventurous park.

“Oh yea, two last rules.” Cass turned her head to look at the female bat.

“One, no switching teams. And two, no powers or gadgets, except communicative ones. It’s all on you. Work together as a team and use what and who you can.”

“Wait, no powers?” Conner started, “why?”

Barbara was a little taken back when Conner agreed to come in the first place. “I just thought that I should shake things up, plus we are in a carnival. You shouldn’t need them.” Superboy was about to ask a follow up question, or question that finding a flag shouldn’t be too hard, but Batgirl kept talking. “Give me three minutes before entering. Also, don’t forget to have fun. Again, we are at a carnival after all.” And with that, Barbara pulled out a grappling hook from somewhere and discretely went flying into the park. 

“Is she serious?” Conner stared after her.

“Has it been three minutes yet?” Gar asked, ready to run in, not minding the new rule and ignoring Conner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter! Just trying to get more of the story to pick up :) Sorry for not posting last week! But hope this is okay <3
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> SuperMehr


	7. Fun Times at the Carnival?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in one day??? Honestly, it's to make up for not posting last week. Hope you can forgive me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you might be wondering how I ended up in this situation. I guess you could say I’ve become the older sister to the team? Alright fine, maybe you can say mother. Whatever I am, I will do whatever I can to protect and grow my family.
> 
> The one where the villain shows up?? Wait, a second, that wasn’t part of the plan.

Barbara let the soothing breeze brush her hair back as she leaned on the ledge of a building overlooking the carnival. Every once in a while she would see team members running past down below. Impulse was pointing everywhere talking faster than the speed of light.  _ I wonder if this is his first carnival? _ By the way the boys’ and Kay’s hair looked, they had definitely tried a few rides. A little after, the girls were seen catching up, looking at all of the lights, walking through, and chatting. Jay had one hand in his pocket and was still holding Megan’s hand. You could tell from the look on his face that he was enjoying himself. She smiled. Barbara glanced at her watch and noticed that it had already been 45 minutes. She looked back up to see Jay gesturing towards the ferris wheel and asking M’gaan a question. It was kind of peaceful watching them all finally have a little fun.

A few minutes later, Barbara heard a little thud behind her, “I got your message.”

“I figured you would stop by the mountain sometime tonight.”

Black Canary walked towards the end of the roof settling next to Batgirl and leaning over. “This is an interesting spot to find the team.”

“It seemed like they needed some air and free time.” A moment of silence slipped between them, “Alfred gave me the idea.” The blonde chuckled, nodding.

“How’s it all going, by the way?” Dinah turned her head towards the redhead, giving her her full attention.

“It’s alright. Both teams have gotten pretty close to the flag, but haven’t found it yet. I just hope they are enjoying themselves throughout all this. The point of this was for them to be together and hang out in a different environment. I want them to really see that they are all part of the same team. They’re a family, Dinah. And for this mission, they all need each other to actually get the flag,” she chuckled. “I want them to learn that... that it’s okay to rely on others.” The redhead released a breath, hoping to relieve some of her stress.

“Well, I was asking personally and living at The Wayne Manor, but sounds productive.” The female bat smiled with the female bird. 

“Haha, sorry, they have just preoccupied my mind. A lot more than I thought they all would, actually,” she glanced at the blonde next to her. “Wayne Manor is nice. And personally?” A pause, “I’m alright.”

“Just alright? You know you can rely on others too. We are all here for you.”

Barbara was silent for a second, “yea, I know. Thank you.” A breeze flew between the two. The two looked out into the carnival, watching as rides rode past. On one of the roller coasters nearby, they happened to recognize a few faces on it. Bart, Impulse, and Jaime could be seen screaming joyfully before disappearing into a tunnel with the rest of their group following. Kay was hugging on to Tim so tight that it looked like he was going to pop. Conner was there too, but it didn’t seem like he was enjoying it as much as the others since he was gripping onto the railing a bit too tight. Batgirl watched as the last cart of their line disappeared into the darkness and noticed that Mal and Karen sat in it. I guess turning this into a date is fine. The mother-hen chuckled again at the group. From where the two females were, they could hear the team’s screams of joy. This was nice. She finally felt like she could relax a little. 

“How is it...?” Canary started saying breaking the comfortable silence that had surrounded them. Barbara looked at the blonde from the corner of her eye again, waiting for Dinah to finish the second half of her question. Her arms were crossed as she looked over the building, “having kids?” 

Batgirl could hear the seriousness of this question. She could feel the multiple hidden questions behind the five words. Before answering, the redhead let out a sigh and looked up towards the stars peeking out. 

“Not gonna lie, it’s hard. There are days where you wanna just go and cry in a corner.” Barbara looked back towards the carnival ground, and caught sight of Jay popping balloons at a booth along with M’gaan and Zatanna. “But by the end of the day, they do something that makes you forget about the hardships. Sometimes their laugh just sends you flying. When they first talk and actually speak to you, man. It’s another level. And with each passing day, it becomes even more worth it than the day before.” The mother ran a hand through her hair and let out a laugh, “but some days you do wonder why.” She smiled and looked at Dinah. “It’s a difficult process. The whole nine months ordeal. And even after. I mean, you are taking care of actual lives, and I know we should be used to that, but this time it’s different.” She shrugged, “for some odd reason, it’s all worth it. Listen, I’m not assuming anything, but if you think that it isn’t the right time. That’s fine, but when is it ever the right time? I’m not saying go and have kids right this second. You do have to mentally prepare, but things will always come up. I mean, I do wish I could have had them a little later in life and maybe after a wedding, but I still would have had to go through most of what I went through anyway, you know?” Silence passed through them again.

“It’s worth it?” Canary whispered as she looked away. It’s a hard question. Especially in their line of work. 

“Yea, definitely. And, you have Oliver with you.”

The blonde looked back towards Barbara, “what?”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think I misread the situation...” Barbara bit her lip. “I mean, you’ve known about the kids for a while longer than everyone else, and we’ve had a lot of conversations, but…”

“No, I mean,” Canary’s cheeks started to go pink. The blonde took a deep breath and turned around, leaning her back against the ledge of the building. “I mean, maybe? I don't know. Ollie hasn't even proposed first of all. And I'm fine with that. I haven't really thought of it...” The female bird let her sentence trail off. 

Back before Batgirl left, Canary and her had gotten pretty close. After, Dinah did have her speculations about the redhead, but she didn't want to push. Barbara would come to her when she was ready, and she did. The mother went to Canary before the twins were born and came clean. Over the five years, Dinah would come over and watch the kids or just visit to catch up. Sure, Dinah wasn’t 100 percent okay with how everything went down, but she knew that Barbara would have thought of every single scenario possible. She is a bat after all. Even after the twins were born, they had their own little birds of prey group, where Barbara would get information for Dinah as she was out on certain missions.

The redhead caught Canary’s eye and raised an eyebrow before the two bursted out laughing.

“But you are right, Ollie is with me.” The redhead’s laughter got quieter as she nodded in agreement. “So, what made you decide to tell him?”

“What?” Now it was Barbara’s turn to be taken back, “I haven’t said anything about anything.”

“Come on Babs. Sure you came back cause Ivy’s back, but you know now that the kids need him.”

The redhead rolled her eyes, “we’ve done fine on our own.”

“Yeah, you have. And you would feel so much better if you told him.” The mother sighed again for the millionth time.

“Okay, so what if I did tell him. If there was a custody battle, I would lose in a heartbeat. The only thing I have going for me is that I’m their mother, and he not only is their father, but also has money. And in Gotham, sadly, money is how it works.”

“Red, there is no way that’s gonna happen. He wouldn’t do that to you. You just want the kids all to yourself.”

“No, Dinah, that’s not true.” Her voice may have faltered a little. “It’s… complicated.”

“Either you tell him, or he finds out later. You brought them into his life. He will find out.”

Barbara opened her mouth to respond, but screams interrupted their conversation. Both their eyes widened as they looked onto the carnival. In the distance they could see giant rocks floating around.

“Ready for the return of Batgirl?” The blonde side glanced at the redhead and noticed that she had taken her jacket off and was pulling her hidden mask over her face. Bats are always prepared.

Barbara smirked, “I’m not returning for good, yet, but better stall until the team is ready.” Together the two jumped off and dove into the action.

***BG***

“Yes, run around. Let’s see all your adrenaline.”

Rocks were flying from all over the area hitting the ground in between rides and booths, crushing some. People were running around in havoc trying to find the best way out of the park. 

“Tim!’ Connor shouted as he caught a rock headed to the boys’ direction. “Get Kay out of here! Mal, Impulse, and Beast Boy, help guide traffic out! Blue, you’re with me. Stop the rocks from getting anywhere near them!” Together, the team moved as one escorting civilians and trying to keep them safe. Superboy tried to spot who threw the rocks, but it was hard to see with all the debris flying through the air. Rocks and plants were stirring all around them. 

Superboy’s head turned as he heard a deep laugh from somewhere above. His eyes caught sight of a red haired man, standing on a floating rock easily dodging and blocking whatever Batgirl and Black Canary threw. The man didn’t look too intimidating if Conner had to be honest. He was kind of lanky, though you could definitely tell he had strong arms and legs. He was wearing a grey body suit, similar to how Nightwing’s is, though a little rougher. His face was covered with a gas mask, however his striking amber eyes showed through. Superboy wasn’t too pleased with the gas mask. It honestly worried him some, but he couldn’t think much of the air around him at the moment. They needed to take this guy down.

“Blue, keep blasting the bigger rocks!” With that, Conner steeled his legs, and leaped into the mess above. 

From the side of her eye, Batgirl could see Conner and Jaime doing their best to keep the debris from being huge meteors raining on the ground. The two of them seemed to work well together as Superboy would jump on rocks using his force to push them towards Jaime who would either catch or blast them out of the sky. Batgirl was thankful to have the other boys on the ground escorting civilians out and making sure little rocks wouldn’t hit them, but where were Ms. M and the others? M’gann would have for sure set up a link between everyone.

Canary let out another scream knocking the man above off his pedestal. The duo had been moving around, jumping from rock to rock in the air to read the person in front of them, slowly learning his weaknesses. At least that was what Batgirl was doing, Canary seemed to be trying to push him to the ground.

“Sepor eit mih pu!” Raquel and Zatanna flew into the battle.

The guy scoffs midair while the magician’s ropes grab him. “You think measly strings can hold me back?” His voice sounded muffled with his mask, but there was a hint of enjoyment in his tone. Something isn’t right here. Batgirl could feel it in her gut. This whole time, it’s felt like a game of cat and mouse. She would throw her trusty batarangs forcing him in one direction, and Canary would be ready with a scream similar to the water balloon tactic the boys and her kids tried to pull on her, but the man always seemed to move out of the way just in time, taunting them. Was he toying with them?

A piece of ground came out of nowhere and hit Zatanna back, causing her to fly into Raquel knocking them into a food stand below. Batgirl dodged another mass coming her way landing on a larger levitating rock and glanced at her friends below. Blue was already there helping them out of the mess. Her moment of relief left her as the villainous man, who had been falling, somehow managed to get out of his binding, and behind her, grabbing one of her wrists and holding it to her back. She could hear Canary shout her name, but with each scream, more rocks blocked her path. 

“This has been fun, truly. Though, I am surprised to see the female bat back. Of course, unless you’re someone else?” She needed to keep him talking, anything to get more information out. She smirked, she's been in worse situations. 

“The one and only,” Batgirl punches the air in front of her with her free hand, allowing her to forcefully get distance with the momentum from the man behind her, almost surprising him with the defensive move. Twisting around, she pulls the man down with her arm that was now loosely in his grip to the large rock under them. She skillfully moved behind him like in a dance, and shoved his same arm into his back like he did to her just seconds before, but this time, his face was on the ground. Moving her knee to hold him down with her weight, she growls, “who are you?” He chuckles again. She slams his head down in response. “Listen Rock Boy, you’ve made quite a mess here and…”

_ “Pyotr, let’s go. It’s a bust. We’ve got enough.” _ Batgirl’s eyes widened as she looked at the earpiece hidden behind the villain’s, Pyotr’s, hair. 

“He’s not alone!” She shouts down below to wherever her team was.

“Well, Princess of Gotham, I think my time is up.” The rock under them flipped over, causing her to lose her grip on the man as her hands slipped. She watched him somehow turn the rock back around and land standing on the other side, right-side up again, as gravity started to pull her to the ground. If she could see his face, she knew she would see a smirk as he waved and let the rock carry him far out of reach before disappearing entirely.

She was back for one day. And she already failed. Just like her, the rocks around started rushing down to the earth, but she was stuck staring off to where the man had vanished. How could she not realize this was all a distraction. A distraction from what? She had a feeling. Tears wanted to prick her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them. Nightwing was right. She’s been out of the game too long. 

Her downcast thoughts were interrupted as another body came crashing into her, grabbing her in his arms. She didn’t need to look up to see who it was. He always wore the same shirt.

“Barbara, are you okay?” Was she okay? No, she felt so stupid. She’s smarter than this. All the signs were there. She should have known he had a partner. And now. Now even more lives were in danger. She had a guess of who he was working with. Those plants moving around with the rocks couldn’t hide much. But what did they want? What did he say?  _ Come on, he must have slipped up _ . “Barbara?” The voice sounded worried, probably because she didn’t answer.

She looked up at the man carrying her, “yeah, Conner. Thanks for the catch. You saved me there.” 

He grunted in response. “Let’s go find the rest of the team and figure out what the heck just happened. Why did he retreat?”

“They got enough,” she whispered, dread moving through her body as she tried to process the meaning of those words. 

Superboy raised an eyebrow, “what the hell does that mean?”

The two landed at the entrance of the park. Gently, Conner placed Batgirl back on her feet. The mother turned around facing the inside of the carnival. To say it was a mess would be putting it lightly. She flinched a little. Wayne Industries may need to make a bit of donation to get this one all sorted out.

“Mommy!” Batgirl turned back around to see a little girl crying her eyes out holding on to someone who looks just like her, “but where’s Danny?!” The mom patted her back, hoping to sooth her child, but she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

_ Fudgesiscle _ .

The mother’s eyes locked with Batgirl’s. Police sirens could be heard in the distance. This was definitely a lot bigger than she originally thought. 

“Conner,” her voice was low. “We need to regroup.”

The mother stumbled forward towards the duo, “please,” she pleaded. “Have you seen my son?” The girl in her arms was full on sobbing now, “please. He has short and black hair like us. He’s 21, and… and about your height.” The mother tried to swallow her sobs down. “He was… he was just visiting for summer break. Please. Is he still…” Conner gave the lady a sad look.

“I’m really sorry ma’am, but no one else is in the carnival area. My team is doing another look around, and we will definitely inform you if we find your son,” Robin spoke with ease, though Barbara could hear the frustration in his voice. Tim was walking up to two heroes as he continued speaking, “we are doing our best to make sure we have the area secure. Now, please, let's get you checked out by a medic and see if maybe we can find him in the big crowd.” Robin moved forward to the little family, all business. He tried to give a small smile to the little girl. His voice was softer now, “hey there little one, it’s gonna be okay. You’re all safe now. Do you think you can be a big girl for your mommy?” She nodded in her mom’s arms trying to calm her cries. Robin nodded, and started leading the family to an ambulance that had pulled up. But before walking away he glanced back at the two behind him, “the rest of the team is inside. They’re okay.” Tim’s eyes stared into Barbara’s, giving her all she needed to know about her own kids. She wanted to feel the relief that tried to wash through her, but seeing the other mother in front of her, she couldn’t. “Mal is somewhere in this crowd too. I’ll find him, and then we can talk more.” He nodded to the two, and then continued on escorting the mother and daughter.

“Barbara,” she glanced over to Superboy. “They aren’t going to find her brother here are they.” He may have phrased it as a question, but it sounded like a statement. The police had made it to the scene, and were moving to block off the entrance of the park. She watched as some started to take down witness testimonies and as others tried to calm the crowds.

She looked down at her hands and let out a shaky breath, “let’s go find the others.”

***BG***

“Mommy! You’re okay!” Barbara’s face instantly lit up a little as her little girl ran into her arms. Swiftly picking her up, she kissed her on her head and cheek. “I was so worried, but I knew I would be okay because I had Uncle Tim!” Even with her exclamation, tears still started to reach her eyes.

“Hey, it's okay. We’re going to be…” she paused thinking back to the other little girl she just saw, “we’re going to figure this out. Uncle Tim is a good one isn’t he.” She smiled at her daughter then turned to the rest of the group. Superboy was already by M’gann who was crouched down trying to breath in and out. Karen and Cass were by her side rubbing her back. From the looks of it, she looked okay, but exhausted. Barbara quickly scanned the rest of the group. They all seemed to have come out unscratched, though some covered in powdered sugar and other ingredients. Her eyes met Canary and a silent conversation passed between the two. 

Canary nodded before heading to the police by the park entrance where other Leaguers seemed to be arriving. Zatanna and Raquel followed, knowing that they will probably be needed to help soothe the after scene madness. 

Barbara let out a sigh. She turned back to the group in front of her as a little hand grabbed her open one. She looked down to her son. He seemed to be going through the breathing exercises she taught them in order to stay calm. She squeezed his little hand causing him to look up at her. She could see tears by his eyes too, but he was trying his best to hide them. They were safe. She trusted her team with her life and her kids, but seeing her kids there was definitely a huge comfort. 

“You guys all did well.” Impulse, Beast Boy, and Jaime tried to go for a smile.

“The place looks trashed, BG,” Beast Boy commented.

She frowned, “there are some things that are unavoidable, unfortunately. But you guys saved lives today. You all worked together, figured out a plan, and moved with ease.”

Impulse shook his head in disbelief. “I saw plants eat people, Batgirl. Sure maybe we saved a few people, but not everyone.” He kicked at the ground.

“What?” The boys nodded, but it was M’gaan who spoke up. 

“Yeah,” she looked up at the group, still a little out of it. “I was with Jay when he heard the plant come up behind us. If Cass didn’t get it off me fast enough, I’m not really sure what would have happened.” 

Karen nodded, “yeah, Cass did a real number on that plant thing.”

Barbara nodded, “we’ll have to debrief Nightwing and Batman about what happened here. Maybe with all our information together we can figure out what’s really going on,” Barbara frowned.  _ Ivy, what do you have planned? _ She would have to think about that later. “For now, let’s split up.” She shifted Kay in her arms. “M’gaan, how are you feeling?”

She looked up at the female bat and gave a small smile. “I’ll be fine. It just feels like all my energy disappeared.” Barbara nodded.

“Superboy, you know what to do. I’ll take the kids and M’gann back to the mountain. Karen, Cass, you guys are with me.” The group nodded together and started to move out.

“The carnival was fun while it lasted I guess,” Impulse bumped his shoulder with Jaime.

“Hey Bart,” his head turned towards Batgirl. She gave him a small reassuring smile. “Maybe we didn’t get to save everybody, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t save others. There are so many people out there who get another day because of you guys. That’s a good thing. We will figure this out. Don’t beat yourself up too much about it.” Bart gave a small smile back and nodded. After, the team split up.

As they were heading out, Jay remembered something. “Oh, yeah.” He pulled out a round orb from his jacket pocket. “We found it, Mommy.”

Barbara chuckled, “it looks like it.” Kay pushed herself back a little to look down towards her brother. “The hardest part though, is getting the flag to release.” The mother let his hand go and ruffled his hair. 

He scrunched his face in confusion, “why?”

“Because you need both you and your sister to be able to open it, meaning the teams would have had to work together. But they proved today that they know how to do that, even if things didn’t go 100% as planned.” 

Kay nodded in understanding, “we do work well when we work together.” Kay yawned and laid her head down in the crook of Barbara’s neck, “just like when we figured out the confetti pellets.”

Barbara softly laughed, “is that what you call figuring something out? I never got an answer about the ash.”

“We’re getting there,” Kay mumbled tiredly. 

The mother sighed.  _ Yeah, guess we all are. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUHHHHHHH....
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> SuperMehr


	8. That's Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well. Looks like we are back. You might be wondering how I got into this situation. Well… I honestly don’t know. I mean the date was all my dad, but the rest? I just feel so attacked right now.
> 
> The one that gets us up close and personal with a leafy, green thing.

Barbara knew she needed to head back to the manor, but instead she got dropped off outside of dad’s place. While her kids did have some grandfather-grandkid bonding time, Commissioner Gordon had gotten called in not too long ago. Alfred somehow managed to pick up the children without raising suspicion, taking them over to the manor. While she knew this, she didn’t tell Lev Titov. 

Her date actually went pretty well, though. When she got out of the car and closed the door, the female gracefully turned on her feet and looked through the open window. “Thank you. I had a nice time.”

“Please, it was my pleasure.” A silence fell between the two of them. It wasn’t necessarily an uncomfortable one. It was more peaceful, just like how the date had gone which, in all honesty, shocked Barbara. The man in front of her seemed to keep throwing curve balls at her. No, wait, that's not what they were. They were easy, soft pitches. He didn’t even seem to mind that she already had kids, let alone two. While slightly mysterious, he was charming and… open? It’s been a while since Barbara had met someone so down to earth. 

The female smiled softly “I guess I should head inside. I’ll see you soon?” What kind of a question was that? But for some reason, she felt a draw towards him. She couldn’t place it, but she knew she wanted to spend time with the other redhead. 

He smiled back, “I’d like that. I’d actually like that a lot.” Barbara noticed that Lev was about to start leaning towards her.

Her smile became a little melancholy, “good night, Lev.” Even though she wanted to know more about him, she didn’t feel ready for anything else. He seemed to understand her hesitance as his smile didn’t really falter.

“Good night, Barbara. I’ll text you.” 

After she watched Lev drive away, she turned around and saw her dad’s apartment lights off. She figured he was still at work, but she couldn’t let Lev just drop her off at the manor. She wouldn’t know how to explain all that, except maybe coming clean. Nah, she couldn’t. Not yet. She also had to hope that Lev was actually going home and not heading into work where her father was. Oh well, she will figure it out later. Right now, she could use some baby distracting time. 

Barbara turned and started to walk down the streets towards the nearest Zeta entrance only a couple blocks away. As she walked in silence, she subconsciously replayed the date in her mind. 

She ended up getting picked up after work. The female redhead had managed to get ready in the library bathroom, somehow fitting everything in her oversized purse. Her simple full-sleeved flowy black lace dress fell on her easily. She tied her red hair in a side braid, letting it cascade off her shoulder. The redhead kept her make up natural and paired her outfit with a small set of silver earrings and a matching necklace and bracelet. She looked pretty put together even though it had been a while since she last went out like this. Once she closed her bag, she walked in her wedges towards the exit of the library, slipping out before her coworkers could say anything. 

The almost setting sun blinded her as she made her way out. Once she could see, she spotted a red Audi with an extremely attractive guy leaning against the car. For a second, she felt her heart drop with anxiousness, but then she saw his face. 

Lev stared out into the sky, admiring his surroundings, though with his lips turned down slightly. When he saw Barbara, his eyes grew with recognition and his face broke into a smile.

“Wow.” Barbara raised an eyebrow at his words, “what I mean is, you look beautiful.” She chuckled.

The female looked down at her outfit as she thanked him, “you look really nice too.”

Lev smiled a little more as he opened the car door for her, “ready for a night out in Gotham?” As if she didn’t get enough of those. 

“Lead the way.” 

Barbara and Lev both were taken aback by how nice the restaurant actually was. The place had beautiful crystal chandeliers with dim lighting and lit candles at each table. The walls and decor were rococo in style, from the columns to the molding and art pieces on the wall. The furthest wall was a giant window facing the Gotham river. The two were in awe as the sun set just above the river, landing perfectly. 

“When my dad said a new Italian restaurant opened up, I wasn’t expecting it to look this nice.” Guess it’s good she went with the fancier outfit after all. She wasn’t really sure what to expect on this date _._

After finding their reservation under Gordon (of course), the two were seated at a table by the window in front of the breathtaking view. The two held some small talk as they decided what to order. After, Barbara took her phone out and texted her dad. From the corner of her eye she noticed that Lev was staring at her.

“Sorry,” she was still staring down at her phone, “it’s just, it’s been a while since dad has been with the kids. And they can be a little much, haha.” Especially since they were skeptical about why their mother would be out so late. 

“Oh no, I don’t mind. Please, take your time.” He sat there patiently. The female bit her lip. She put her phone down face up next to her plate, crossed her arms on the edge of the table, and gave the man across from her, her full attention. 

“Sorry, okay so, did you really not like Central City? I mean moving to Gotham of all places.” 

Lev shifted a little as he gave a small laugh. “Well my parents actually grew up here in Gotham. They actually lived down the street from here. After I was born, they ended up moving towards the middle of the country, and then we ended up in Central.” As he kept talking, Barbara kept nodding along, but her gaze would fall down to her phone. Lev raised his eyebrows, “and then I met Batman and we got lunch. We fell in love actually, and that’s why I’m in Gotham.”

“M-hm,” the female nodded again before realizing what he said. “Wait, what?” Lev bursted out laughing, which Barbara couldn’t help but bashfully join.

“Listen, I’m really sorry.” Her phone finally lit up. “Oh god, dad,” Barb picked up her phone and read the message aloud. “Hi Barb, stop worrying about the kids, we are having a grand time. You should worry about your date since you keep staring at your phone,” she laughed and put her phone away in her purse. The rest of the message told her to do just that and to have fun. Her dad knew her too well. “So you moved to Gotham because of Batman?” Lev smirked at her and shook his head. She chuckled.

And that was basically the vibe of their date. It was a nice, sweet one. Definitely better than a lot of weirdos she has gone out with. He talked a bit more about being in Central City, moving, visiting family abroad, and his hobbies and obsessions. He got pretty passionate when talking about exploring different lands and terrains. It made her smile. For once in her life she might have met a decent guy.

Her train of thought slowed.

Barbara was a block and a turn away from the tube when she heard rustling behind her. The red head slowed her walk just a little and strained her ears. The warm breeze in the air blew the leaves around, creating more rustling sounds. The redhead felt something burn inside her as her instincts slowly started to kick back in. Half way through her short walk, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand. Something was off. But a lot of things are off in Gotham. Barbara kept walking, but this time, she picked up her pace. She could hear each of her steps echo down the empty alley ways she passed. 

She was one corner shy of the correct building needed near the zeta when she slowed down, making sure nobody was following her. Again, she strained her ears and heard nothing. Batgirl took another step walking by another dark alley when it hit. Something like a rope wrapped around her ankle pulling her in. She would have screamed, but the fall knocked the air out of her. Batgirl clawed the ground trying to regain control and hold herself back from being pulled in. Another line came out of nowhere grabbing around her waist, ripping her dress. She looked down and moved one hand towards her purse. Thankfully the vines, as she now realized what they were, were just above the bag. She managed to get out a batterrang and threw it towards her ankle, slicing through the thinner green. The vine around her midsection tightened as the little green branches started to grow from the mother vine. She could feel thorns cutting into her as the vine tried to keep hold. The female bat cursed under the little breath she had.

She reached into her bag for one thing she knew would loosen the hold enough for her to escape. She pulled out a small spray can with one hand and pushed the vine down with the other. She definitely could feel her energy draining from this fight. A little too quick compared to her past life. 

Batgirl managed to spray the can. A twist of the cap at the same time caused a little spark. A fire erupted from the small nozzle, singeing the trailing plant and burning the tips of her fingers. It seemed to wail as it painfully and reluctantly let go of Barbara. Batgirl managed to squirm out of the hold and crawled/ran away from the vine towards the zeta tube. Her eyelids started to droop and her legs felt like they were running through pudding. She knew she had been out of the business for a while, but it shouldn’t be this bad. The redhead rounded the corner, rushed into the telephone booth, and shut the door. She grabbed the phone and typed her password without waiting for the dial tone. As she heard the tube warm up, she leaned her back against the left corner of the booth, breathing hard. She tried to focus on the direction she just ran from, making sure no green plant was running (flying? crawling? moving?) after her. 

Batgirl felt her adrenaline start to drop as she finally registered the sharp pain near her stomach that turned into a burning sensation, causing her hand to automatically move to the inflammation. She looked down and noticed that her midsection was bleeding. A lot. It took all her will to stay up from passing out.

_Batgirl B16_

Once she appeared in the Batcave, she almost collapsed on the ground.

“Bruce…” she managed to croak out. Her broken voice echoed off the walls. It sounded like her body didn’t have enough energy to even speak. She stumbled forward, her blood dripping on the rocks beneath, trying to get to the staircase that led up to the batcomputer. “Alf…” Her eyes almost rolled into her head, but an image of her kids flashed before her. No. She needed to get help and be okay. For them. She needed to be louder. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Barbara tried to take a breath and thought of the picture she saw: her kids’ smiling bright-eyed faces. She took in a deep breath. 

“Dick!” She nearly shouted. Still no response. Batgirl was halfway to the steps when her knees buckled. She felt the cold ground hit her hard, possibly giving her a concussion. Where was everyone?

“Barbara?” She heard Bruce’s voice from above. A black cape glided towards her covering her vision as she drifted into the darkness.

Barbara’s eyes struggled to open. When they did, she could feel the smooth metal medical table under her. She tried to sit up, even though her body felt exhausted. The last thing she remembered was passing out on the Batcave floor. She looked down at her stomach and saw bandages threaded around her. Her burned right hand also sat wrapped up. If her kids saw her now, they would think she was dressing up as a mummy for Halloween. _The kids_. Barbara’s eyes widened.

She pushed herself off the table, trying to stand. Her vision blurred, but she held on tight trying to steady herself. It definitely hurt, but she couldn’t let this get in the way of her getting to her kids. They were probably worried sick. She groaned. Batgirl tried to take a step, but felt her knees almost buckle again. Thankfully she caught herself. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Barbara looked up from her feet and saw Bruce standing in the med-bay’s doorway, no longer in his hero costume. 

“My kids...” the mother’s voice still sounded hoarse.

“Are fine. And you, are not.” Bruce walked in and helped Batgirl back onto the med-bed. “You have burns and cuts all across your midsection. Your fingers on your right hand have second-degree burns. What happened?” 

She moved a hand to her head, “I… I was getting home from a dinner. Dad was called in, and I knew the kids were at the manor. So, I went to the closest zeta by dad’s and a plant or something grabbed my ankle, pulling me in an alleyway.” Barbara’s words started to slur a little. She felt exhausted, and all she did was try to stand and talk. Bruce handed her a cup of water, which she was thankful for. After finishing the whole glass, she felt a little bit better. The Dark Knight took the cup back and placed it on the counter next to two closed off test tubes. One had a small plant and the other had blood. Above that was a monitor with her vitals and other information. The redhead stared at it as she continued her story. “A second vine came from the same direction, stronger than the first. I only got out with fire, and then I managed to beam here. I passed out right outside the tube, and then just woke up here.” Bruce nodded, but could tell she was distracted from her story. “Is that part of whatever attacked me?” She said barely gesturing to the tube. 

“That piece was still holding tight when Alfred and I brought you here. We did some blood tests to see if it left any substances behind.” Batman handed her another glass of water, which Barbara chugged down. “How do you feel?”

She moved the cup from her mouth, “exhausted. As if, as if all my energy disappeared.” Barbara let out a breath, “this must have been how M’gann felt.”

Batman nodded, “you should have been able to make it back here without passing out.”

“Gee, I mean…”

“Even with you being gone for that long, you shouldn’t have fainted unless something came in between.”

Batgirl closed her eyes, confident enough that she wouldn’t pass out, “Ivy. Whatever these plants are, they are a lot worse than we thought. But, why me? I wasn’t the only person walking down the streets...” Barbara had a dreadful thought cross her mind. She got up again, feeling a bit stronger than before and walked up to the monitor, switching screens to the information gathered on the plant. The way the plant’s DNA lined up looked so familiar. “Bruce, where are the kids?”

Batman was standing behind her looking over her shoulder. “They’re upstairs with Alfred and Tim. What do you see?”

The mother turned around looking into the Dark Knight’s blue eyes. “They’re almost the same. That’s the DNA structure of that plant from all those years ago.” She paused, thinking through her photographic memory. “It’s just a little different. It’s been modified.” Barbara didn’t realize that tears had fallen from her eyes till they hit her arm. “Bruce. We have to get to Ivy. We don’t know what this can do yet, but if it’s the same plant, we need to find her.” 

Her gaze shifted down to the small plant that had attacked her, not even bothering to wipe the left over tears. It was squirming around the closed off tube.

Batman followed her eyesight, “there is more, isn’t there.” 

Barbara took steps closer to the little green thing. With each step, the plant squirmed more and more, almost as if it was agitated. Batgirl took two steps to the left. The plant’s movements seemed to follow, though erratically. “You got to be forking kidding me. It’s been five freaking years. Why would,” she was growing frustrated and let out an exasperated sigh. “There is no way that any of that pollen would still be in my system,” she turned her attention back to the Dark Knight. “Right?”  
Bruce didn’t move. Barbara wearily put her face in her hands.

“I can’t, Bruce. If it’s still in my system… fork.” She let her hands fall. “The kids,” her voice took a contemplative tone. 

“It’s probably drawn to them, too.”

Barbara let her head roll to the right, letting gravity take some of the lead. She was facing the man in front of her, but wouldn’t let her eye contact last long before gazing away in any direction. She knew what he was gonna say before he had said it, but it still bothered her even more than she would like.

“What do you want to do?” 

Her eyes shot back to his, “what do you mean?”

Batman shifted his stance, making him look taller, “they’re your kids, Barbara. This is your mission. What do you want to do?” She bit her lip. 

“It’s… it’s our mission to protect those we care about. We all care about them, even… even if some of us don’t show it.”

“So, you know what the next steps are.” It wasn’t a question. It usually never is with Batman. 

“Yeah.” She let her eyes close, “we have to keep them from going out.” He hummed in agreement. “They will only be allowed to be here or the Mountain, but with strict rules.” The mother put a hand to her chin, “I can’t keep them from going outside fully, but they will need to have at least two people watching them. Three? No, two should be fine. But they are not allowed to leave these premises.” Barbara looked up at Bruce as he nodded in agreement. “And, we can not tell them the whole story. I do not want to wake up finding out that they have been experimenting on themselves.” The man in front of her was about to say something, but she cut him off. “Yes, they would.”

He nodded again, “now that we have a start and a potential lead, what’s our move?”

She looked at him with confused wonder. He was really letting her take the lead on this. She pursed her lips. “Seeing how agitated this little guy gets with me, I hate to say this, but let’s go test what happens when it's near them.” She wasn’t a fan of her kids experimenting on themselves, but she could for their safety, right? She’s their mom. It’s to protect them. Plus this is just a test, not really experimenting. We’re not going to dwell on definitions here.

Batman plucked the test tube out from its home, and pushed down on the sponge like cork, keeping it tight. It was Barbara’s turn to nod as the two started heading into the manor. Her body felt a little better now, still tired, but with some rest, she should be fine.

Bruce paused midstep, “Barbara?”

“Yeah?” She perked up at her name.

He cleared his throat, “your standing too close. It’s moving around too much.”

“Oh, sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why would water make her feel bet… Oh. Plants like water don’t they? Don’t worry, she’s not a plant. I think. JK JK, she’s not. Also, who would have thought that quarantining would end up in this story, too? It’s such a crazy time right now, and I just wanted to say that I hope you guys are all doing well <3
> 
> Sending out Love <3  
> SuperMehr
> 
> Edited:  
> April 17, 2020  
> June 21, 2020


	9. Just Take a Deep Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just… I just love this chapter. Why, I don’t know. Unfortunately I do not have much of a summary for this one.
> 
> Warning: There’s the start to a panic/anxiety attack here.

Batman had tried to convince Batgirl to stay behind and continue to rest, but she wanted to hear the details on the next mission. She had to. If this pollen really was the same, she could finally get an actual sample and hopefully study it more. She needed to understand each of the properties for the sake of her children and their future. 

Barbara, dressed in civvies, had gone to the mountain alone, though Batman said he would be there shortly, and her kids were already present somewhere in the vast hideout. When she arrived, she slipped into the crowd, trying to catch up on Nightwing’s updates about his solo missions. 

“There’s no doubt that Ivy is back and is working together with this new rock guy.”

“Pyotr,” Robin nodded along, some team members groaning at the memory from a little bit ago.

“For the past few years, we can confirm that she had been working on this plan while in Arkham. During her time there, things had already been set in motion.” Nightwing pulled up a folder titled  _ Rate of Kidnappings in Populated Areas _ . 

“They’re all on the rise but barely,” Bart commented while looking at the many graphs that flashed the screen. 

“Just a small amount that would barely be noticed unless you put them together.” Nightwing let out a sigh, “though some people were found later with no memory of what happened, which should have already brought out warning bells.” He shook his head, “most of those who were kidnapped were between the ages of 15 to 40.”

“That’s a wide range,” Beast Boy tilted his head.

“But it means that they are after those who are in the prime of their life and energetic,” Robin said while putting a hand to his chin. Barbara walked up closer to get a better look at all the graphs, doing her own mental calculations. 

“From the looks of it, that would be a lot of people they have hostage. Why would they need that many people?” Cassie wondered aloud. 

Barbara’s breath hitched, “to repurpose their energy.” The redhead thought about when the vine grabbed her. It almost felt as if her life had started leaving her, and with every passing second after, the branch had grown stronger. She felt a ping in her stomach.

“What was that Batgirl?” Nightwing looked straight at her. As much as she would have loved the attention, she didn’t like the atmosphere around it. Their past conversation still lingered in the air, and she was sure everyone could feel it. She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off first. “Don’t you have kids to watch over or something. Leave this to the heroes.” Everyone awkwardly glanced between the two alphas. 

Nightwing probably thought that he was doing her a favor, telling her to focus on her kids. After all, he knew a little more about what she was going through. Maybe not physically, but after talking to Jay and Kay, he realized that Babs was still the same Babs. She tried to do everything on her own. Besides, she clearly didn’t want this hero life, so why did she bother with the missions? He didn’t understand why she didn’t just ask him for help all those years ago. He was literally there every single day for her when they were younger. Yeah, maybe he had a slight crush on her back then, but that shouldn’t matter. Friends are there for friends. He could feel himself getting heated, as if something inside him opened up feeding into his negative emotions. It was the same feeling as before. All of a sudden, he could feel himself getting upset towards the women in front of him. He needed to think straight, but he was finding it difficult to see past this dark fog in his mind. 

“Nightwing,” she said in a calm, yet stern voice. “Can we talk. Please.”

“I don’t think now is a good time, we really need to focus on…”

“Now.” She said it with such parental command that he followed her to the further side of the room without much hesitation.

“Barbara, I really think you should go be with your kids right now. You’re busy all the time, you should spend every free moment you have with them. Not on some mission.” 

Barbara stared at the former Boy Wonder. “How I spend my time isn’t really any of your concern, but,” she bit her lip. “Dick,” maybe it wasn’t her place to ask, but she already pulled him aside, “are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’ve been out on patrol night after night, have you gotten enough sleep and food?” 

He couldn’t believe her. I mean he thought she was just going to yell at him for some reason about the kids since that is how their usual conversations go these days, but here she was asking if he was in tip-top shape. “Barbara, you don’t need to parent me.”

“That’s not what I’m doing, I’m just…”

“Just what? Caring after years of being gone?” Nightwing’s voice started to grow louder. The team couldn’t help but overhear.

“...being a friend.”

“A friend? You abandoned us, Barbara.” She mentally winced. “You left us. You left the team. You left me. How could you just up and leave? Who cares if you were pregnant, we would have helped you through all of this. I would have been there for you.” Barbara flashed back to seeing him busy all the time with Wayne Enterprise, being a hero, and his own relationships. Her mouth went dry. She had wanted to tell him, but couldn’t. He had his own life. 

“Dick…” The redhead tried to voice her concern. Is this what had really been on his mind all those times? Did it really have nothing to do with the kids, but more with her? She really tried to focus on the conversation, but she could also feel the pain of her wound start to flare up. Maybe the pain relief meds were wearing off. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I just figured it would be the best for the kids.”

“For the kids? Or for you, Barbara? You never let anyone help you. Ever.”

“For the kids, Dick.” She ignored his second comment as well as the flames growing inside her. Her heart thudded in her ears. “I had to make sure they grew up in a steady environment, and this here, doing all of this night after night, is not steady. Which is why you really do need to take care of your health.”

“Babs, would you stop worrying about others for one minute and think about yourself?!”

Her eyes glistened. “Once you have kids, Dick, you can’t just think about yourself.” Nightwing narrowed his eyes and tried to read her face.

He shook his head in disbelief, “I take it back. All you have done is think about yourself. You went and hid when you had all of us here.” He scoffed, “and now all you do is make your kids worry about you.” Barbara looked slightly confused as the Son of the Bat stared down at her. “If I was in your place, Barbara, I would have gone down another path.” Dick shook his head, and started walking back to the team. The redhead could feel her breathing speed up as she felt her anxiety rise. But the mother had been through so much in the past five years. These children aren't ordinary kids. He didn’t know what she truly went through. All the pain and exhaustion. Her long, long nights. He just doesn’t know. About anything. Not even about the kids. He doesn’t know their feelings. He doesn’t even know who their father is.

“Sorry guys…” Dick was cut off by a scream as M’gaan’s face contorted into a painful expression. 

“M’gaan!” Conner and Lagoon Boy shouted as they saw the martian nearly fall forward due to the strong force that the female heard within her.

“I’m okay…” M’gaan lightly panted out as she tried to situate herself. The martian looked at the mother in front of her, who had one hand touching her forehead as if she was also in pain. The call out from Barbara’s mind shocked M’gaan. The other redhead had been very careful not to let any of her thoughts through, but something Nightwing said to her this time must have tripped her up. Conner and Lagoon Boy gently caught M’gaan’s arms to help keep her steady. “Barbara,” the female in question painfully looked at M’gaan. Her eyes widened a fraction as she realized what had happened.

“M’gaan, I’m so sorry,” Barbara’s last word was almost cut off as she felt another painful ping inside her body around where the branch had hit, but she gritted her teeth to hide it. Not to mention her splitting headache. Maybe she should have listened to Bruce and stayed behind.

“Barbara,” M’gaan paused. “What doesn’t he know?” M’gaan gently questioned her with the utmost concern. How could she be so careless. Accidently letting M’gann into her mind? There’s no way it's safe there currently. Too many thoughts. Too many feelings. So much guilt. 

Batgirl’s breathing started to hitch slightly as the intakes grew faster. She noticeably winced this time. Her hand went to her stomach as she felt another painful sting inside her.

“Barbara…?” Nightwing warily asked with slight hesitation.

The female in question bit her lip as she felt pain radiating from her still bandaged wound. “Jay and Kay, go to the other room. Now.” Everybody was confused, for they were sure those children were playing in the living room area.

“But mommy,” the group heard both of their voices from above.

“Go to the other room, now!” Barbara cut them off, hoping that they would listen to her. She could feel herself breaking a sweat.

“Barbara,” Nightwing tried to call to her again. The redhead could feel her ragged breath becoming harsher, making it harder for her to breath as she tried to swallow down the pain. Nightwing noticed a shift in her eyes. The crystal blue, green eyes he knew so well, were clouding.

Batgirl glanced at Robin. “Call Batman,” she somehow managed to sneer out. 

_ I need something to lean on.  _ The dizzy woman tried to take a step towards one of the mountain walls, but failed as her legs started to give out under her. She fell onto the cold rocky floor, catching herself on all fours with one hand clutching at her heart. 

“Barbara/Batgirl!” Nearly everyone on the team shouted as they were shocked out of some sort of daze. By now the team had already surrounded her, questioning her. They tried to ask what was wrong and what was happening, but the questions were falling on deaf ears. 

_ My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in Gotham City. My name is…  _

Barbara agonizingly tried to sit up straight, while looking towards the ceiling, ignoring the claustrophobia that was trying to take over. The redhead was breathing hard as she looked up towards the top of the mountain. She needed to get out of this naturally heated area.

“Back up! She needs space!” Barbara could hear someone say around her, but she wasn’t sure who. Everything started to blur, but the voice managed to clear a bit of her mind. She had to move quickly otherwise her heart rate would drop drastically.  _ My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years… _

Barbara drunkenly reached into her utility belt. Once she found what she was looking for, the female stumbly pulled out an epipen looking tool. Batgirl tried to stab herself with it, but her strength was abandoning her. Each breath that staggered in felt as if less and less air was present. It was difficult for the faint redhead to even keep her eyes open. Slowly, she started to fall back onto the ground, silent tears finally rolling down.

“Barbara?!” Someone with warm arms had caught her before she hit the hard, cold ground for a second time.

“Move out of the way!” Barbara fought to open her eyes, but everything was so blurry. Her vision couldn’t focus. A giant black figure rushed to her side. She felt something grab the epipen from her hand, which Batgirl was sure she had dropped moments ago. Everything grew vague. She felt as if her senses were evaporating away. All the noise around her started to disappear. _My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in Gotham City. My name..._ As the darkness slowly engulfed the female, she noticed a warmth that surrounded her at this very moment. It felt just... perfect. It had a foreign touch, yet it felt nostalgic in a way. It reminded her of times before all of this mess happened, not that the children were a mess. She just felt almost... _at_ _home_... outside her breathing problems of course. As her eyes closed, she found herself in a safe haven, and Barbara knew that everything would be alright. She just wanted to rest here, just for a few more minutes. 

She bolted straight up, uncleared eyes wide open, and her lungs taking in gigantic breaths of air as a rush of adrenaline surged through her veins, her mantra still running through her head. The person who caught her, held her tight, making sure she wouldn’t fall flat on her face. Barbara’s hands tried to clutch at the person’s shirt as she wheezed in air. Once she realized she couldn’t get a hold due to the tightness of the person’s clothing, she roughly grabbed their shoulder instead, trying to situate herself. The almost passed out bat moved her other hand to her heart again where the adrenaline pen was stabbed into her. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her face as she looked over towards the person who saved her life.

Through her now messy and sweaty hair, Barbara saw Batman kneeling and staring down at her with, what Barbara thought, a worried expression, but her vision was still clearing up.

Bruce waited a minute before speaking, watching the girl in front of him try to regain her barring. “Barbara, are you alright?” He spoke slowly, as if not to frighten her. 

Barbara’s eyes kept staring at the father of the batfamily, trying to focus on him. She kept blinking hoping each movement would clear her mind little by little. With every heavy breath the female took, she could feel the weight of her head go down and come back up, as if each breath fought with gravity. It took the drained redhead a couple minutes and endless amounts more of blinking before she could regain her senses. 

Batgirl opened her mouth to reply, but felt something wet around her stomach. She looked down to see a few drops of blood slowly seeping through her shirt. Barbara quickly sat away from the person’s lap in shock, making her closer to the kneeling Batman. The movement caused her head to spin a little more. 

“Babs, careful,” the person behind her said, which she now realized was Dick. Barbara ignored the comment as she quickly lifted up the bottom of her shirt, and ran one of her hands over her stomach. 

“Woah, Batgirl, you’re hurt!” Bart shouted at her bandaged abdomened. Murmurs broke out around the team again.

“Your wound opened,” Batman spoke clearly so the wounded female could comprehend what he said. Barbara raised her hand that had gently touched her stomach. Her fingers were lightly painted in red.

“When did you… I didn’t know you were… how…” Batman cut off Nightwing’s frantic whispers.

“We need to get you back to the cave,” the Dark Knight said, getting up. Barbara nodded and tried standing up.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Nightwing said exasperatedly in his leader tone as he followed her movements up to catch her in case she fell again. He realized his negative emotions seemed to take over again as she left his arms. The man let out a sigh. “You can’t move around too much, you’ll open the wound even more,” he managed to make his voice softer than before.

“I’ll be fine…” She anxiously managed to get out, while trying to move on her own. The adrenaline seeped deeper into her. The distraught redhead felt like she had to keep moving.

The female bat was about to take a step forward, when she felt someone’s arm go under her knees and another wrap around her back. “‘I’ll be fine’ my…” Barbara heard Nightwing mutter as he lifted her off the ground. He felt it again. Something warm definitely opened up inside him. She fit so easily inside his arms. A memory tugged in the back of his mind, but he would worry about that later. 

The adrenaline-high redhead attempted to look at the man through her overly blinking eyes, but then looked away, saying nothing as she let him carry her. She didn’t trust her legs at the moment, besides she felt the same comforting warmth that had surrounded her moments before.

As Batgirl, Nightwing, and Batman moved to leave the mission room, Batgirl tried to turn her head to the other teammates in the room. “Robin…?” Barbara hyperly started to question, but winced in pain. “Ka-Ka-Katrina and Jace, please...”

“Don’t worry Barbara,” M’gaan answered, “we will look after them.”

Barbara nodded to the group still trying to comprehend what was going on, and let Nightwing carry her out of the mountain as she leaned deeper into his hold. Is this what he meant about them being there for her?

_ My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in Gotham City.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter has been written out in my head, and on paper, for a long time. It honestly was one of my most favorite ones to write. Why? I think it’s the fact that you get to see the raw emotions here between Nightwing and Batgirl. Barbara is finally understanding Nightwing, and slowly, Nightwing has been too. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked it! I would love to hear feedback on it. I just hope you guys were roped into it as much as I was writing it. 
> 
> Talk to you soon! The emotional family reveal will be coming up soon!
> 
> <3 SuperMehr
> 
> June 29, 2020


	10. Don't Be Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You might be wondering how I got into this situation. Well to tell you the truth, I haven’t told the whole truth.
> 
> The one where she finally decides to talk.

_....is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in Gotham City.  _

_ My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in... _

Her eyes followed her kids in front of her, a book lazily sitting in her hand.

“Jace, it's my turn,” Kay drawled out.

“What? I just got it!” Jace called back as he was riding in circles in the mission room at the mountain on a brand new scooter someone (no naming names, *cough*  _ Bruce Wayne _ *cough*) bought for them. 

Barbara really contemplated the fact as to why The Bruce Wayne would only buy one scooter when there were two of them. I mean, she was thankful for the random gift, but doesn’t he know what it's like to have multiple kids and only one toy? Babs flashed back to Jason and Dick, watching them argue over gadgets and gizmos. She had come to the conclusion that the old man had done this on purpose. Why? Probably to teach some unspoken lesson, maybe involving her patience.   
Barbara opened her book again to continue reading. After a few minutes of staring at the same paragraph, she glanced up as Jace ended his turn passing the scooter over. Kay excitedly took off immediately, barely clicking her helmet back into place and leaving the big room and Barbara’s sight. She knew the little girl would be back. The mother smiled. The two really liked the scooter. They kept disappearing, coming back, switching places and taking turns. Maybe they were learning a lesson.

The way the duo moved reminded her of her younger days with the former Boy Wonder. Her smile tilted downward a little. The two hadn’t spoken since the incident. Once they got back to the cave, Bruce practically kicked Dick out after the redhead was hooked up to the heart monitor. Every time Dick would try to get close, the monitor would soar. She tried to chalk it up to the fact that he was the catalyst to the panic attack, but deep down she knew the real reason. She let out a tired sigh, though this time the exhaustion wasn’t connected to her stomach. She actually was healing pretty fast in that area.

Barbara was about to go back to reading when a noise made her pause.

_ Meow _ . Jace’s head shot up in the direction Kay had gone. The sound echoed in the big room. 

“Oh, no no no no no.” Barbara got up, leaving her book on the ground, and brushed her hands on her pants. Jace turned to look at his mother with a grimace on his face. 

“Mommy, I’m sure it was nothing…” his sentence fell flat as Barbara raised an eyebrow. “Really,” he tried again, but his voice cracked. The mother started walking in the direction to where the sound came from, which just so happened to be where Kay had gone. What a coincidence. Jay followed behind, trying his best to get his mom’s attention, but failing. Once he realized he was losing the battle, he sped around the corner, probably to warn his sister. 

Barbara found the two sitting on the floor facing her by the garage entrance, the scooter propped up against the rock wall and Wolf surprisingly sitting not too far, either. Thankfully the garage door was closed, but she still felt they were a little too close to the outside for her comfort. They had been so good about staying in doors and with someone. Ever since the other day, the two seemed to be afraid to step out of line in anyway. She knew they were worried about her, apparently in more ways than one if what Dick said was true, but they didn’t need to be. They were children. They should just have fun and not worry about adult things. 

She crossed her arms and looked down at the two who were clearly hiding something behind them. The mother hummed in understanding.

“Oh, mommy, there you are,” Kay started nervously.

“Mhmm.” The mother crouched down to be on eye level with her little troublemakers. Her eyes moved between the two, waiting for an explanation. Instead, the two just smiled. “For the love of…” Barbara muttered, shaking her head. 

_ Meow _ .

Jay and Kay’s eyes widened.

“Wow, Jace,” Kay tried again, “that was a really good impression, haha?” 

Jay gave her an incredulous look, but swallowed it down. “Yeah, haha. Meow?” He really did try his best, but it clearly was not the same voice that was heard moments before. 

Barbara chuckled lightly as she rubbed her face with one hand. “Mhmm. Show it to me.”

“Her,” Kay corrected. Barbara raised an eyebrow again. “You know… if there was something to show, haha.”

“Kay.”

“Yes, mommy?” Barbara looked at her daughter again. “Fine. But it was Jay’s idea!”

“What?! That’s not true!

“Yeah, it was!”

“Mommy, don’t listen to her. She’s lying.”

“Hey, that's a strong word now. Accusing someone of lying is a big deal, Jay.”

“But…” he let out a breath. “Fine, it was both of our ideas.”

“That's…! Okay, that’s true. It was both of us. But we couldn’t just leave her stranded.”

“Yeah, mommy, we just wanted to help. She looked hurt.”

Barbara gave them a soft smile. “Alright, alright, let's take a look.” The two children moved to reveal a little grey kitten rolled up in a cardboard box. The cat meowed again and looked at Barbara with bright blue eyes. “Wow, she’s beautiful.” The kids bounced excitedly, and crowded around their mother to peer into the box with her. 

“Right?!” Kay squealed.

“We named her Sapphire like the stone,” Jay moved his hand to pet her. 

Barbara watched carefully as the kitten leaned into Jay’s hand. “How long has she been here?” The boy stiffened, but continued again.

“Well, uh…”

Kay started fidgeting with her dress, “about a week.”

“A week!? And no one knows?” Kay put her hands up defensively.

“Well, they all just assumed you got us a cat and that it stays here.” The mother could not believe this.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” the two said in unison. Barbara blew out a breath. A week is a long time. How did she not even know about it?

“But GG, said it’s okay now!”

“GG knows?” That let her relax a little. At least Alfred would have made sure the cat was safe before even considering letting the two touch the little animal.

“Well, yeah,” Kay bent down to join her brother.

“We found her in the Batcave.” 

“After we fixed her leg, cause she was limping, Uncle Tim said we could bring her here.”

“Why would Uncle Tim let you bring her here?”

“To… umm… hide her from Grandpa Bruce?” Kay’s voice went up at the end, turning the statement into a question. 

“And Uncle Tim decided not to tell me because…?”

The two sighed, “we asked him not to.”

Barbara was taken back a little, “why?”

“You were so busy with so many things.” With the way the two talked, Barbara could have sworn she was watching a soap opera. 

“Yeah! And we knew we could take care of the cat with GG’s help, plus Grandpa Bruce had a lot of cat food and cat toys at the cave.” The mother did not want to even touch that statement.

“We were planning on letting her go once she got better.”

“But now…” Kay stopped petting the kitten, her voice giving way.

“But now you guys have grown attached.” Barbara moved to sit criss cross on the floor, just watching her kids with the little kitten in front of her. She felt something brush up against her shoulder and turned her head. Wolf came over to join the trio and took a seat right next to the redhead. “Looks like you’re on their side too, aren't you?” Barbara moved to run her fingers through his fur. “Alright,” she let out another sigh, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The two kids snapped their heads towards their mother, shock clearly evident on their faces.

“For real, mommy!?” Kay shouted, getting up from her spot, Jay following her. Their reaction took Barbara’s breath away as the two jumped to give her a hug, narrowly missing Wolf’s head in the process. 

“Our family is getting even bigger,” Jay clutched onto his mom excitedly. A flash of another being added crossed her mind.

“Family, huh…” the mother whispered under her breath. “Also, all I said was I will see.” Another expense to the list, but it wouldn’t be that bad. She would figure it out. She always does.  _ You can’t just think about yourself _ . The words had been echoing through her mind these past few days. Her shoulders deflated a little. “Next time guys, please come and talk to me. Even if I am busy, I always have time for you. Taking care of a little animal can be a lot of work,” Wolf barked, causing her to chuckle. She smiled in their hair as she held them close to her.

“Uh, mommy, choking, not breathing,” Kay tried to let out. 

Jay started laughing while trying to push away, “we get it, we get it. We will always come back to you, mommy.” The little boy finally managed to get out of his mother’s hold.

“You better,” she ruffled his hair. 

Kay stopped trying to escape and looked up at her mom, “mommy?”

“Yes?” Barbara glanced at the mini version of her. Her eyes seemed to be more blue like her brother’s today compared to her mother’s blue-green ones.

“You’ll always come back to us too, right?” 

“Of course, peanut. Where else would I go?” Kay just nodded and gave her mom another hug in response. 

“Oh!” Kay pulled back again. Barbara could practically see twinkling stars in the little girl’s eyes. “Uncle Tim said he was going to come over and hang out with us! But you can’t be here!”

“What? Why not?” Kay shifted on her feet and bashfully looked down. Cute.

“Uncle Tim is going to be showing us some chemistry stuff,” Jay was pulling Sapphire onto his lap. Surprisingly, the little kitten didn’t mind. “He said he would bring us food and take us home, too. You wouldn’t want to be there.”

Barbara pouted, “you aren’t even teens yet, and you’re already pushing me away.” She playfully crossed her arms over her chest with a hmph. 

“Please, mommy,” Katrina begged. “It’s a secret...” Why are there so many secrets?

“Kay!”

“...please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please…”

“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you guys to it,” the mother said with a laugh. “But,” the two children looked up to their mother expectantly. She couldn’t stop the smile that creeped onto her face, “first, tickle fight!”

She still wasn’t sure about this kitten, but her kids seemed happy, and that was enough for her at the moment. 

But isn’t seeming happy and being happy two different things?

***BG***

Even though they practically pushed her away, they made Barbara promise not to be gone for too long. They had their suspicions as to where their mother had been the other night when they stayed with Grandpa Jim, and they were not a fan. She shook her head as she left the two playing with the kitten and, she guessed, their bodyguard, Wolf. They needed to ‘prep’ for ‘Uncle Tim’ for whatever reason. She honestly, was not a fan of this secrecy, but if Tim knew, it couldn’t be too bad. Plus, she could just get it out of him. Though he had known about the kitten and didn’t say anything. The redhead let out a sigh, and decided to join the group deeper in the mountain. She had heard the girls had planned an evening together, but she wasn’t really sure where she fit in. To be honest, she had a sinking feeling that something big was going to happen today.

The redhead bit her lip. While it had been a few days since the incident, it was still fresh in the team’s mind. Everyone tried to act normal, but Barbara could tell that there was something different in the air. For some reason, what occurred kind of drew everyone closer. They all acted more careful around Barbara, almost as if she was pregnant. And she hated the feeling of being looked after like that. Yes she was appreciative, but still. She felt a little dread fill her stomach. It would only be a matter of time before they find out. Would it really be that bad though?

***BG***

“Come on guys, I’m so glad that BG is back and all, but we have to know who it is.” The room was as it always was. The kitchen and island counter were on one side leading into the big family room area. The TV sat opposite to the semi-circle sofa with two armchairs on either side. Karen sat on the big sofa next to Miss Martian and Artemis on the end. Cassie was on the floor in front of her deep in thought, with Raquel next to her in an armchair and Zatanna across from them in the other. Karen looked at the group in front of her, “there is no way B wouldn’t tell us unless the guy was here.” The team seemed to be in a deep conversation. 

“I mean, maybe,” Cassie responded while stretching out her legs on the floor. “But come on. If he was here, she would have told him that he is,” Cassie struggled with her words, “I don’t know, the father.” 

“True, but think about it. Why would it matter if we knew who the guy was or not, unless we actually know him,” Karen countered. “Besides, maybe he already knows.”

“Or maybe it's a villain?” The Girl of Wonder shrugged.

“I highly doubt it, but whoever it is, has to be extremely smart,” Zatanna added. “And I’m guessing someone without powers, otherwise Jay or Kay would have shown some signs of it.”

“They do have amazing reflexes,” Raquel rested her chin on her hand.

“It could be someone from a police force? Barbara’s dad is the Commissioner of Gotham.” Artemis joined even though she tried not to show interest in the conversation.

Karen shook her head, “I still think it’s someone on the team.”

“Yea, but which one?” M’gann thought aloud. Everyone was silent for a minute letting that thought sink in. 

“There are a few teams out there, I mean with the Justice League and, of course, we can’t forget the Green Lantern Corps.” Everyone nearly jumped as if they got caught doing something they weren’t supposed to be. Standing at the door leaning crossed armed against the ledge was none other than the female in question. Barbara did still feel a little drained from the other day, but she tried not to let that show as she walked over to the couch and sat on the armrest next to Artemis. 

“Ha! So it is someone on the team!” Karen shouted. Barbara shrugged, not giving anything away. “Someone without powers.”

“That leaves Green Arrow, Batman, Red Arrow, Arsenal, Nightwing, Robin, and I guess some of the Green Lanterns?” Cassie listed them on her fingers.

“Green Arrow’s got Canary,” Raquel chimed in.

“And Red Arrow and Arsenal are somewhat accounted for,” Artemis continued.

“Ignoring the Lanterns, that leaves the Bat Family,” Zatanna finished. Everyone looked up at the redhead in question, but she didn’t say anything as she shook her head in disbelief. A soft smile stayed on her face.

Miss Martian looked more intently at Batgirl. “Batman has been pretty protective over you.” The rest of the girls turned towards the martian in shock. Barbara wanted to laugh. 

She wasn’t sure if she would call it over protective. Sure the female was allowed to go for work and school, but besides that, Bruce wanted Barbara to stay within eyesight just like her kids. To her, it felt more like she was grounded.

“The kids do have the skills,” Zatanna started. “Clearly, they are your kids with how smart they are and their range of knowledge, but there’s more to it. Their agility is phenomenal.”

“Like an acrobat!” Cassie said. Artemis and Miss Martian glanced at each other. 

“Batman seems like the obvious choice here.” Karen shook her head again, “there’s no way it’s Nightwing, cause you definitely would have told him from the start. We can all guess how he would act if he found out he was a father years later.” She laughed, “that would not be good.” This time Raquel and Zatanna glanced at each other. Barbara could read every movement the group made. It was hard not to, especially when you had a mentor like the big old bat. For some reason, she felt depressed if she was honest with herself. She was tired of all of this. 

“Well, if it isn’t, that basically just leaves Robin.” Cassie’s face went a little pink.

“Leaves Robin where?” Tim said in full Robin attire as he walked in. He walked up to Barb and stopped next to her, casually crossing his arms.

“He’s too young,” Karen dismissed the idea.

“Too young for what?”

“Being a father,” Artemis stated bluntly.

“What?!” Robin was so confused by the conversation. He shot a look at Cass, trying to communicate in silence. “I...wha…”

“We’re trying to figure out who the dad is.” Robin let out a sigh of relief. He sure seemed worried for a second. “Jay and Kay should have a father figure. I mean BG, you are incredible and we all know that. But a lot of us also know what it’s like to not have a parent or even both. If their dad is around, wouldn’t it just be better if they had him?” Barbara could feel something well up inside her as Karen’s emotional words filled the room. She was right afterall. Yea every situation is different, but he deserves to be with them. Her kids deserve a father just like she had. Plus they are right, he would want to know. The sooner the better. Maybe that panic attack did more than just bring the team closer. Her mind seemed a little clearer, too.

“I know I miss my dad,” Zatanna just had to add in. Barbara flashed back to when she was younger. Her dad was always there for her, especially after her mom and brother left. He was there when she won her first ballet trophy to her first break up. He stood by her at every single moment. Even now, he was there for her. When she finally told him she was pregnant, she didn’t know if he would understand. But, somehow, he did. 

“You can have mine,” Artemis said, trying to lighten the mood a little. 

Miss Martian looked thoughtful and treaded lightly. “Where I come from, family and sticking together are pretty big.”

“BG, listen, whatever happens you’re back in our lives and we won’t let you leave. We’re here for you no matter what.”

Barbara looked at the amazing group of girls in front of her. Honestly, she didn’t know how she survived without them these last few years. She took a deep breath, “you’re right.” Barbara stood up, “I think I have to go.” She shook her head, “no, I know I have to go.” She smiled down at everyone. Her smile and eyes seemed to hold years of hardships. The mother remembered how she felt the first time she tried to tell him. How scared she was and worried that she wouldn’t be able to fit in or be a part of the team any more. Honestly it was all just stupid thoughts, but they scared her. Having kids was such a huge change. She had to care for more than just herself. The redhead readied herself and moved to walk away.

“Wait,” Artemis said getting up. Barbara turned to look at her.

“Yea?” She barely got the word out as Artemis gave her a hug.

“I’m not good with this touchy stuff, but just know that Karen’s right. We are here for you.” And Barbara felt that she truly meant it. Suddenly Barbara’s fears started to slowly crumble. She wouldn’t be seen as an outcast. Her kids wouldn’t be pushed to the side. She has these amazing friends, including Dinah, who would stand by her through anything. She saw all of their encouraging faces looking up at her. No matter what happens or who it is, they would be there. 

Barbara and Artemis pulled back, and for the first time, she wasn’t afraid about what was going to happen. She was finally ready to tell him. She looked at everyone and smiled, “thank you”. And she really, really meant it.

Barbara was at the zeta tube ready to head to her next destination when she heard someone running up behind her. She knew it wasn’t her kids since she had already kissed them goodbye and told them that she would be back soon. They were skeptical, but took her word for it. Plus, the footsteps sounded like someone older than five. 

She turned around to see Tim sheepishly looking at her. He had grown so much from when they first met. She remembered the days when he started out as Robin, boldly coming up to Batman knowing full well who The Batman truly was. His deduction skills were possibly even greater than Bruce’s. 

“Hey, I just wanted to say, good luck.”

She smiled at him, “thanks Tim.”

He nodded his head, “I mean we both know how thick headed he can be, but you know he means well.” The truth was the truth. “And that he really does care about you. Sometimes he’s just really dumb and says it in the wrong way.” Tim gave her a reassuring smile. Of course Tim knew who it was. The redhead smiled back. 

“I have no idea who you’re talking about, but yeah, believe me I know.” She let out another sigh, “but I guess that could go both ways. Also, do me a favor and take care of my kids. I’ll be back. And please for the love of god, keep them in line. I do not want to come back to a pet cow or something.” 

Tim chuckled, “we’ll see you soon.”

Barbara smiled, and nodded giving one final look around the mountain before taking a deep breath as she headed over to Bludhaven. 

_ My name is Barbara Gordon. I am 23 years old, and I live in Gotham City. And my childhood best friend is the father to my kids. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 Chapters in and here we are… A cliff hanger. I just want to say thank you all for sticking with me and this story<3
> 
> Let me know what you think! I didn’t think this chapter was as strong as the others, but the next one is an emotional one. Please don’t hate me. 
> 
> SuperMehr <3


	11. To Jump Then Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re probably wondering how I got into this situation. Well, let me just tell you that I ran when I should have walked.
> 
> The one where we fall.

Barbara didn’t even remember how she ended up here. Okay, with her photographic memory maybe she did, but there she was standing in front of his apartment door. Third floor. 1013 Parkthorne Avenue. Room 3A. She couldn’t believe she was here again, or that he even had the same apartment. It had been years. She flashed back to a time where her stomach was just about to start showing. A certain fiery redhead opened this very same door, but she couldn’t think about that now. She bit her lip. She’s never felt such a strong desire to tell anyone anything until now. Steadying her nerves, she motioned to knock on the door. Before her knuckles could touch the mahogany wood, she hesitated.  _ No matter what happens, I will be okay. _ Her family, which may now include a cat, would be okay. She smiled, ready for the next trials in her life. She’s Barbara freaking Gordon, AKA former Batgirl. She can do this.

She knocked twice.

It took a minute, but the door slowly opened and a head peaked through. Blond hair cascaded down as a female on the other side looked to see who knocked. Barbara felt her resolve melt. The redhead noticed the girl recognize her immediately. 

“Oh my god! It’s Barbara freaking Gordon!” Bette Kane, former Gothammite, opened the door fully revealing the blond women in all her glory. She was wearing skinny white formal pants with a sky blue low-cut blouse, making her perfect crystal eyes stand out. Barbara hadn’t felt underdressed, but a moment flashed where she wished she wore something else other than her dark jeans. The blonde stepped into the worn, blue painted hallway and gave the redhead a hug. “It’s been so long!” 

Barbara wanted to sink away and disappear. She tried to keep her mind clear, but it was growing very difficult. Her eyebrow twitched. Out of all the scenarios she played out in her head, this was definitely not one of them. “Yeah, it has been,” she whispered, licking her lips to hopefully stop her mouth from growing dry. She could feel her brain try to lapse back to the past, but she couldn’t. Not yet. God, her heart ached. But why? She only wanted to tell him about the kids, there was nothing more to their relationship. She didn’t have feelings for him. He’s the dork who used to wear a flashy green underwear while fighting criminals and currently has a wall full of bat mugs... and a beautiful person in his apartment who he for sure had a history with back in high school. She wanted to groan. She didn’t know if she was more upset at him or herself at the moment. 

“Wow, look at you! You look” the blonde tried to find the right words, “the same, yet different.”

“Thanks,” because how do you answer that? “A lot happened over the years, but, uh, you look really good as always, Bette.”

Bette smiled at Barbara, “don’t I? I’m kidding, thanks. So what brings you to Bludhaven? You should have told me! We totally need to catch up sometime.” Clearly that sometime wasn’t now. The female in question opened her mouth to say something, but another deeper voice from somewhere in the huge apartment beat her to it. 

“Bette, who did you say was at the door?” Barbara knew exactly where the distant voice was coming from. She practically knew the apartment inside and out. She also knew the distinct sound of a bathroom door closing. 

The redhead shook her head to Bette, “I was just in the neighborhood and figured I’d say hi, but I see you guys are probably busy, so I’ll just head out.” Barbara turned to walk away as she felt a painful sting behind her eyes.

“Wait, Barbara!” The blonde had stepped further into the hall reaching out towards her old acquaintance. 

The distraught redhead kept walking, “don’t worry about it Bette, I forgot there was something else I had to do here.” She put her hand up to wave goodbye after her lack luster excuse without looking back. “Let’s catch up sometime. Tell...” her pink lips quivered a little, but her voice somehow stayed even. “You know what, I’ll just tell him later. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you.” She turned the corner at the end of the long, dull hallway, trying her best to speed walk away from the situation and her thoughts.

Before the door to the stairwell could close fully, she could hear him join Bette in the hallway. “Who was it?” Water found its way to her eyes. No matter what he said, that voice would always get to her.

Bette turned to the man dressed in a blue button down shirt and black slacks next to her, “wrong person?” She said hesitantly as she walked back into the room a little confused. The dark haired man looked at the blonde then down the hall where he was sure his visitor had vanished. 

“Dick? You coming?” 

“Yeah,” Richard John Grayson ran a hand through his wet hair reluctantly turning away before he joined the female back in his apartment.

***BG***

Barbara tried to hold herself together as she made her way over to her next destination. She rushed through the open doors of the building, catching the elevator to the top floor. She leaned back against the cool metal doors and tried to hold back her tears. She couldn’t break down. Not here at least. God, she was stupid. She should have known this was gonna happen. Of course history would repeat itself. The redhead stumbled out of the moving machine as she heard the ding, and made her way to the door of the loft. She knocked. Again.

A blond man in a tuxedo with a goatee opened the door. Usually she would comment on how good he looked, but not right now. She was afraid to say too much. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Hi Oliver,” her voice caught. She tried to clear it again and continued, “is Dinah with you?” His eyes widened a little and turned into his place.

“Dinah! You have company.”

Dinah walked out in a stunning black, sleeveless, floor-length, slit gown. “What was that Ollie?” Her question died as she saw Barbara standing by the door hugging herself. The redhead knew she didn’t look okay. She had been crying on and off since Bludhaven. Her eyes must look so swollen. “Oh, honey,” she said as she rushed towards her friend and guided her into the apartment. “Ollie, would you mind giving us sometime?” Queen lifted his hands up in defense and walked out of his apartment closing the door, leaving the two females alone.

Barbara looked everywhere except at Dinah. “Let me go get you some water.” Barbara watched as the female blonde left to go to the kitchen. She tried to steady her breathing.  _ One, what is something you can hear.  _ The sound of a running faucet being turned on and then off. Dinah walked back into the room and handed the water to the teary eyed girl. The redhead gave a small smile as she looked down at the cup resting between her palms. Water dripped from her eyes, landing on her hands in front of her. Dinah gently motioned for them to sit down on the black L-shaped sofa. 

_ Two, touch. _ Barbara could feel the fibers in the seat below her. She wondered how often people came over.  _ Three, what do you see? _ Everything looked so perfect, almost as if it came out of a catalogue. Including Dinah and Oliver’s relationship. No stop. You can’t think like that. The redhead took a deep breath and licked her lips again. Better just start talking. “I went over to Dick’s.”

Canary’s eyes widened, connecting the dots she needed. “Oh,” was all she could muster at the moment. 

Barbara let out a weak laugh, “yeah, tell me about it.”

“I’m guessing he didn’t take it well?” Batgirl’s eyes finally met Dinah’s. They were full of concern and care. It made her want to cry even more.

“I,” her voice cracked a little, “didn’t get to tell him.”

“What?” that shocked Dinah a little. What else would have led to this? He wouldn’t have done something to purposefully hurt her. “Why not?” She moved her hand and started rubbing Barbara’s back, encouraging her to keep going. She knew there had to be more than the redhead just chickening out and leaving.

“Bette opened the door.” Dinah’s mouth made a silent O. She didn’t need to know who the name was in order to understand what the redhead was hinting at. Barbara nodded and covered her face with a hand. A few more tears leaked out and her shoulders shook. Saying it out loud just reminded her of how she felt the first time. Batgirl looked at Dinah. She knew she wasn’t alone, but why did she feel that way. “And then, I just…” Barbara turned away again, “left.” 

“You just left?” 

She nodded in response, moving to hug herself again, “I couldn’t stay. I started…” Canary watched her friend carefully. It had been a long time since she had seen Barbara so distraught. “...flashbacking.” 

“Oh, no, honey.”

“Yeah, even on my way here. All I could think about was how Kory answered the door.” 

Koriand’r, also known as Starfire. Also known as Richard Grayson’s Ex. She and Dick had been together for a long time back in the day. Wally even placed a bet that Dick would finally settle down and tie the knot with her. Barbara was pretty sure there was an engagement, but something happened where the two had split. She hears it’s mutual, but Barb wasn’t 100 percent sold on that. The redhead placed her head in her hands again after moving her water cup to the floor.

“And it bothered you that Bette answered the door?”

Barbara slowly lifted her head confused, “Wha… of course it did. I just told you…”

Canary held her hand up to silence the upset female before her, “I know, I know. I mean, aside from the flashback, which sucks on many different levels.”

“Yes, Kory wasn’t very nice to me that day.”

“Yeah, but,” Dinah paused, trying to put all of her psychiatric skills to use. She wasn’t sure if she should push, but Barbara needed to come to terms with her emotions. “Why did you feel the need to run this time? Or even last time?” 

“Okay, one, last time I was literally blocked and there was way too much drama around them. And two, I…” Barbara stopped. Why did she run? It shouldn’t have mattered if Dick was with someone. She was an adult. An adult doing adult things like telling the guy she likes that he is the father of… Hold up. Back up, Gordon. Did she just say… like??? What the hell, where did that come from? Wasn’t she doing this for her kids? When did her emotions come to play. “Oh, crap…” 

_ All you have done is think about yourself.  _ What the freaking hell. That’s not true! He… he’s wrong.  _ If I was in your place, Barbara, I would have gone down another path. _ She shut her eyes and pouted. He never calls her by her full name. But… was he actually wrong? She bit her lip. She did let her feelings get in the way a little bit, didn’t she. It wasn’t even a question. Her children wanted their dad. Katrina literally cried, and here Barbara was holding them back, stopping them from having a second parent. A second parent who was alive and well with possibly some loose screws. A second parent who knows her inside and out, but that was not the point.

The main point. The bottom line. The thesis was Katrina and Jace. There was nothing more to it. That's it. She had planned this. They were introduced to the teams after training to control their emotions. It made sense with everything going on at the time. And now, they are old enough and mentally strong enough to have a father. Barbara shook her head, trying to hang up on the call of tears and guilt.

Katrina and Jace.

Jace and Katrina.

They shouldn’t even know who their father is, but of course they would remember and comprehend everything. A few Bat Family stories right before the age of two was all they needed to know who was who and how everyone was related. Curse her photographic memory that for sure got passed down no matter how often the kids try to deny it. But they do know. They know about their dad. They have met him on multiple occasions, even if he has never been introduced as their father in front of them. This wasn’t fair to them… or him. Fine, introducing them to the team late can make sense, but not letting Dick really meet his kids? Or vice versa?

She let out a sigh. Her tears had died down, but her shoulders were still shaking. “His life was so much more complicated back then with Wayne Enterprise and Kory. If I had told him about the kids, his relationship with Kory would have for sure been affected. He was so stressed out, Dinah.”

“Yeah true, and they already had a lot of drama with the interglobal laws or what not.”

“I… I don’t know about that part, but yeah, I mean, there is a time for everything, right? And it wasn’t the right time back then.”

Canary handed the female in front of her a tissue, “your instincts are rarely wrong.”

“And sometime now, with or without Bette, would be good to tell him. Right?”

“You know, a little birdie told me that there never really is a perfect time.”

Barbara narrowed her eyes at the female in front of her, “I hate you.”

“I love you too, BG. Plus,” Canary looked into Batgirl’s eyes with love and care, “you can’t change the past. You’re in the present, which is a gift for the future.”

Barbara felt the words hit her heart. She nodded her head, letting out a sigh as she gave her best friend a soft smile. So now what? 

“You told him you would leave after all of these missions with Ivy, right?”

The redhead ran a hand through her hair, “yeah, I did tell him that.”

Dinah nodded, “think you still will?”

Barbara paused and glanced around the room. Would she? With the kids (and cat) and all? “I…,” she swallowed, “I don’t know.”

Canary hummed in response. Before Batgirl could do another deep dive in her thoughts, the blonde continued. “Speaking of missions and Ivy,” there is never a break for the heroes, “this is semi off track, but Bruce was talking about the next potential target locations. There’s a few different options, but are you up for another team up? I know I should probably ask this another time, but Bruce says it would be soon. And we have done pretty well together in the past.”

Barbara smirked. The mission for her kids. The mission that could finally lead to a cure. The mission to save her life. And by her life, she means Katrina and Jace. “Wouldn’t miss it.” Plus, it would feel kind of nice to beat up some bad guys.

The two sat in silence, letting the words from their conversation settle in the room. Canary soothingly patted the redhead’s leg, “I think this was good for you.”

“What do you mean? Which part?” 

“Barbara, I’ve known you and Dick for a really long time. After you left, he shut himself off from the team. I don’t think he realized what he was doing, but he did.” Barbara raised an eyebrow waiting for Dinah to finish her thought. “What I’m trying to say is that, you guys meant a lot to each other, and you still do. Yeah, the pollen may have heightened things, but feelings have to be there already, romantic or not.” Dinah let out a sigh, “listen, you took a step in the right direction. Now that you know where your emotions lie, you can choose to pursue or get over them. And then you can tell him about the kids when you’re ready again.” She’s right. Barbara had held on to the hope that someday Dick would remember and come to her. She would never admit that out loud, but maybe she did have feelings for the Boy Blunder. She blew out some air. She honestly couldn’t believe it. 

“You’re right.” The redhead rubbed at her cheeks. She chuckled pushing some hair back. “Sorry for being such a mess, I guess I was really just shocked, and maybe a little hurt.”

Dinah shook her head, “it’s understandable.”

Barbara opened her mouth to say more when the front door opened with a knock. Oliver stuck his head through and looked at the couple on the couch. He awkwardly coughed, his eyes darting between the two, “umm, how’s it going?” 

Barbara took that as her cue that she should probably head out, “it’ll be okay.” She got up and turned to the hero behind her. “Sorry for messing up your date night.”

Dinah’s eyes softened, “you didn’t mess anything up. You don’t have to go, you know? You can stay. We can eat all the ice cream and brownies you want.” Barbara heard herself laugh, brightening the mood. To her, it sounded like a true laugh that wasn’t held back, something she hasn’t heard in a while.

“How about we rain check on that? There’s a few people I gotta go talk to first.” Barbara smiled at the couple, “thank you guys for everything. You look amazing by the way, Dinah.” She gave her close friend a hug, “and seriously, thank you. I’ll text you when I get back home.” She pulled back, and turned to Oliver with her hand out. “Sorry for making you a little late to your dinner.”

Oliver took her hand, “eh, not a problem, I'd rather not go anyway.” He whispered the last part so only Barbara could hear.

“What was that, Ollie?” Canary crossed her arms and glared.

“Nothing sweety.” Oliver nervously replied and shot a sheepish smile at Batgirl. As Barbara headed out the door, she could only hope that she would have someone like the two of them do. 

****BG****

Batgirl walked out of the Zeta Tube a few blocks from Gotham’s Police Department. The sun painted the buildings in an orange hue as it started to set. She felt lighter with each step as she headed towards the building. It's been a long while since she’s felt this kind of refreshness. She couldn’t wait until she saw her kids, but first, a pit stop. Barbara paused in front of the stairs that led up to the police department. She stared at the metal front doors and took in a huge breath, slowly letting it out. She knew she had to do this, better sooner than later, but that didn’t make it any easier. She ran her hand through her hair.

“Barbara?” the female in question turned towards the voice. There before her stood the man she was looking for.

“Lev,” she said under her breath. She gave him a sad, small smile.

His head tilted in response, “I know that look.” He nodded as he put his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“I’m sorry.” His lips stayed shut in a line. “It’s just…”

“There’s someone else,” he deadpanned.

“What?” Barbara was a little taken back. He walked up to her and brushed back a strand of hair that fell in front of her face. Hopefully her eyes still didn’t look as puffy. She did stop at a fastfood bathroom to try to make herself look a little more normal on her way here.

“Let me guess, it’s the kids’ father, huh?” Batgirl was shocked. Just when she thought she was done being caught off guard tonight, things keep coming. “Oh come on, Barbara.” Lev took one of the female's hands. “I’m a detective. And I’m pretty good at my job.”

The redhead awkwardly chuckled as Lev intertwined their hands. “I’m sorry,” she said again, “I just don’t think it’s fair to you if I still have feelings for him. I hope you understand.”

He let out a sigh, “sadly, I do understand. But feelings can change over time.” He smirked a little, causing the female to playfully roll her eyes. 

“I do really like you, Lev. You’re a really, really great guy.”

He chuckled, “I don’t know about that, but I’m just trying to do what’s right.” He stood so close to her. “Whenever you fully get over him, you know where I work.” He squeezed their interlocked hands. She looked up at him, and his eyes locked with hers. He was about a head taller than her. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You really are beautiful, Barbara Gordon.” He whispered in her ear before straightening up. The man smiled at her and took a few steps back. He lifted their hands to his mouth, and kissed hers before letting go. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” 

She could only nod in response. They did only go on one official date, but this still felt so weird. She watched as he ascended the stairs and disappeared behind the cold, large doors. Her hand went up to her cheek where he had touched her. This time, she didn’t feel her heart skip a beat like when they had first met, but she still felt a little down. 

Finally she broke contact with the doors and started heading for the nearest Zeta to go see her kids. Thank god cause she needed a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> I am so sorry for that cliffhanger…. And for it to lead up to this… but don’t worry! The next chapter is definitely better than this one!
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying this rollercoaster ride! So with the flashback, there actually is a comic where Barbara went to go ask Nightwing out on a date, but Kory opened the door. I saw it, and it kind of really fit into the past in this story. 
> 
> I really hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm actually really worried about it for some reason lol.
> 
> Don’t worry, for real, the reveal will be coming soon. Next chapter does involve all 4 of the family members! Plus Robin, cause… he just always knows when he is called for.
> 
> SuperMehr<3 
> 
> July 16, 2020


	12. Into Me

“Where have you been, young lady?!”

“Yea! All you said was that you were going out to get stuff for us. I see no ‘stuff’, mother.” Barbara was sitting on the sofa in what was known as the living room of the manor. The room was softly lit by lamps and the moon outside the gigantic windows. Her beautiful children surrounded her as they continued their interrogation. 

Kay gasped, “I didn’t even notice that Jace! I think your detective skills are really growing.” Kay was dressed in her lavender color nightgown. Her hair was tied down in two braids, ready for her whenever she would go to sleep. Barbara secretly hoped it would be soon. 

“You think so?” Jace’s face beamed. He was wearing a similar night pajama set, but his was deeper in blue. This was the perfect moment for the mother to intervene.

“Yea, definitely Jay. I am so proud. See, all you gotta do is take in the surroundings wherever you go. Every time you enter a room, take it all in,” Barbara instructed.

“That’s exactly what I did!” Jace jumped up and down in place, before stopping and frowning. “Hey! You’re changing the subject.”

“Ooo, right again, my boy really is getting better at this.” She moved to ruffle his hair, but he moved out of the way, crossed his arms and pointedly looked at his mother. Kay patted his shoulder, and shook her head. Barbara admired how close the two were, trusting each other in every move. She let out a weary sigh, causing the two to look at their tired mom. Darn, they really were getting perceptive.

“Mommy? Is everything okay?” Kay questioned. The mother tried to smile for them.

“There’s something we need to talk about.”

“Okay?” The two said in unison, a little bewildered. Barbara looked between her kids.

“We all know that you guys know who your father is.” Of course they would have this conversation in the same room that Kay asked for him. They nodded hesitantly. “I can’t believe even when you were just born, that you guys practically remembered each story I told you guys as you fell asleep.”

“My favorite one is still the one with Condiment Man,” Jay added, chuckling a little. 

“Oh yea! That one was so funny! ‘You better watch out before I ketchup!’” The two burst into laughter. Barbara smiled and couldn’t help but pull them into a hug. 

“Ooo, that one is a good one.” She blew out another sigh, “listen guys, this is serious. I need you to promise me something.” Jay and Kay both leaned back and looked at their mother with expectant eyes. “I need you to promise me that you will go to your… dad if something ever happens to me.”

Barbara had been thinking about this for a while. But on her trip back to the manor, it felt more real. She thought about what Dinah said, the mission, and the plant that had attacked her. This was the reason she had to tell Dick. Batgirl knew what she had to do to get to the bottom of this mission, and it may end up with her being gone for some time.

“Wha…” Katrina started.

“Wait, let me finish. There’s a mission that’s going to be coming up, and I know I have to go on it. Whatever is going on right now needs to come to an end, and then we can all go home. To our home. But, on the off chance that something happens, I need you to go to him.” They nodded, reluctantly. 

“But…” Jay looked slightly perplexed. “Isn't this our home, too? Like Grandpa Jim’s house?”

“Yea, but we can go to our home, home where you guys can sleep in your own beds again! And, you’ll have all of your gizmos and gadgets!” The mother tried to entice them, but Jay just frowned, not saying anything.

“Mommy, are you going to be okay?” Barbara turned towards her daughter. 

“This line of business is difficult. But if everything goes according to my plan, then yes, we all will be okay.” The mother smiled at her kids. 

“Then we will make sure you have the best equipment known to woman and man at your disposal,” Jay said with a triumphant look. Kay nodded, but looked a little thoughtful. 

“Mommy, will daddy,” the girl paused trying to figure out the words, “accept us?” 

“What?” For the third time that day, Barbara was taken back. “Of course he would. You guys are his kids. There’s no denying that. And there’s no denying that he will love you, if he doesn’t already. He’s a good guy, guys. A really good one.”

“Is he?” Jay asked, a little miffed. 

“Jay,” Barbara said warily, “what do you mean? Where is this coming from?”

“Mommy.” Jay got out of her hold, and turned around looking her straight in the face. “Every single time he’s talked to you, he’s made you sad.” 

“That’s… that’s not true, Jay. I’ve told you guys so many amazing stories about him.”

Jay shrugged, “sure, but seeing him in person, he’s a jerk.”

“Jace James Bruce Grayson!” He flinched as Barbara stood up saying his full name with a pointed look.

“Mommy, he has a point,” Kay sadly sighed. “But I guess he’s only human.” Barbara couldn’t believe this. These two were kids, and here they are picking up on things that other kids would have totally overlooked. She hadn’t realized that their vision of their “super” father had crumbled while being here. She knows they say to never meet your hero in person, but still.

“All I’m saying mommy is that he’s not my dad. He’s a detective, mom. If he wanted to know who we were, he would have found out by now.”

“Jay, that was a little harsh,” Kay looked at her brother with concern, but he just shrugged in response.

“It’s the truth, Kay. As much as we hate it, he doesn’t want us.”

“Whoa, whoa whoa,” Barbara put up her hands. “If he knew that you guys were his kids, he would do anything and everything for you two.” 

Jay snorted, “yea, right. From what I’ve seen, all he’s managed to do for us is make our mom cry, and I’m tired of it.” An alarm went off in Batgirl’s head, she could see his anger growing. Never a good sign. “I mean look at you mommy. I can see you cried today. What did he do this time?” Jay’s hand clenched into a fist. She really shouldn’t have let them read those psychology textbooks. 

“Jace. That is enough. No matter what, he is still your father.” She could see some of his anger dissipate, but only a little.

“Che, whatever,” Jay crossed his arms again and looked away from his mom. It was almost as if he was going through his rebellious teenage years. Kay walked up next to Jay and leaned her head on his shoulder. Guess that means she agrees with him. 

Barbara knew she had to do something to change their mind. This mission needed her, and it was extremely dangerous. The plants were attracted to her, and probably her kids. She had to leer it away from them. Barbara pursed her lips. She didn’t like her plan, but she knew it was the only way to get inside and infiltrate the base. But that’s later. Right now, the redhead needed to focus on the two most amazing gifts in her life. She had one idea.

Barbara took in a deep breath and dialed a number as she fished out her phone. She got down on her knees, making herself eye level with her kids. 

_ Ring… _

The kids watched her, curious as to who would be on the other line.

_ Ring… _

“Hello?” She watched her kids’ faces as recognition washed over them. They both guiltily tried to look away from her, but she could tell that they really did care about him. “Barbara? Hey, are you okay?! What’s going on?” Barbara raised her eyebrows towards her kids with a look that said ‘see, I told you.’ “Babs… talk to me.” Barbara was just about to answer, but he continued to talk. “I… I saw that you stopped by earlier. I was gonna call.” Silence. Barbara stared at the phone. Of course he would know that she stopped by. He had cameras everywhere. “Are you there…”

“You stopped by earlier?!” Kay nearly shouted at the same time Dick spoke. Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. Barbara shook her head and chuckled to herself as her little girl mouthed ‘sorry’ to her.

She cleared her throat, “hey, Dick. Sorry for calling out of the blue and stopping by. I just wanted to make sure that we were okay and to thank you for the other day.” She didn’t mean for all of this to come out, but she needed to show her kids that they needed to trust him. No matter what. And she really meant everything she said. Plus, her kids being with her felt like an anchor to staying calm. 

“It's…” he sounded a little confused, but regained his composure, “it's okay. Bette finally told me that you came by earlier and looked like you really wanted to tell me something. She said you looked off.”

“Oh, yea…” She let her sentence trail off. Over the years, she had rehearsed so many different potential scenarios of how to tell him. It felt strange to think that it almost happened today. To be honest, she felt disappointment in her gut that she didn’t get to. I mean she could tell him right here and be done with it, but this probably should be said in person. No, this should definitely be said in person. 

“Barbara,” that brought her attention back to the phone in her hand.

“Mhmm?”

“I just, uh, I wanted to say I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s been going on with me lately, but, um, I think I might have been affected by pollen too or something, because I have been a complete and total jerk towards you.” Barbara’s eyes widened. Jay gestured to the phone with his eyes wide. Alright, maybe he wasn’t totally wrong.

“It’s okay.” She started, but was cut off.

“No, Babs, no it's not. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through these past years. And I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry. And, there must have been something I did back then that led to this. I’m so sorry Babs.”

Barbara felt a tear roll down her cheek which Kay wiped away. “Thank you, Dick.” The group sat in a strange silence. It felt like a new path magically appeared in front of them about to take them on a new journey through their lives. But this time, it would hopefully keep them together.

“Sooooo,” the man cleared his voice a little, “I’m assuming our kids are listening in on this conversation.”

“Our kids?” Barbara definitely spoke too fast. The kids eyes grew wide, again, in shock.

“I mean yeah, everyone on the team views them as all of our kids. Weirdly, even Bruce has been pretty protective of them. I think he sees them as his legitimate grandkids.” Her heart soared a little at his laugh. Traitor. “They are a part of the family now, and that's not gonna change.” That sentence shot Barbara’s hand to the treacherous beating in her chest. It felt like she was stabbed with another adrenaline pen. He had said it so casually. 

She let out a breath that she didn’t even realize she was holding in, “haha, you think so?”

“Oh, yea definitely.”

“God, that makes me so happy.” The redhead moved to sit more comfortably on the floor, leaning against the couch behind her. 

“Hi, question.” Jay came up to the phone. Barbara gave him a warning look, but he waited patiently for the man on the other side to respond.

“Yes of course, go ahead Jay.” The little boy nodded in approval at the use of his nickname.

“Well, first. It isn’t going to be that easy for you to just assume everything is going to be rainbows and butterflies.”

“Of course not.”

“Good, then we agree that no matter what, Katrina and I will always be our mom’s number one.” Batgirl was pretty sure that they didn’t agree to that, but he wasn’t wrong. Though, she felt a slight tinge of heat reach her cheeks. From embarrassment or something else, she could only guess. “Right, now for the question. Frankly, I don’t trust you,” he paused. His eyes shifted away from the phone, “but,” his hands fiddled with the hem of his sleeping shirt, “what do you really think of us?” The boy winced just a little.

Barbara held her breath. This was a question for Dick to answer. She wouldn’t be able to save him from this one, but she did worry about what he would say. His answer could break them.

And of course, he answered in a way she could never think of. The man on the phone laughed, somehow warming the chilled room, “wow, you guys are intense.” Jay’s mouth twitched up a little. Barbara could tell Jay was holding back his playful retort. “Well, from what I’ve seen, you guys are pretty smart and almost as cool as your mom,” she rolled her eyes, “but to be honest, I think I need to spend more time with you guys first to really give you a good answer.” The mother stared at the phone. She wondered if he could hear how much her heart was beating. “What do you guys say we hang out sometime soon? If that’s okay with your mom. Eh, I guess your mom can come, too. Is that cool, Babs?”

“Wha… Yeah, that’s totally fine.” Barbara felt something heavy lift from her shoulders. The world she had been carrying felt just a little lighter. She could physically feel herself accepting the happiness that started to fall on her. Her kids would finally be able to hang out with their dad like they wanted to. She smiled. This was insane. She couldn’t believe it.

“Sweet! Tim told me you guys like puzzles and all that. Would you guys wanna go do an escape room or something? I heard those are a lot of fun!” Okay, now she really, really could not believe it. Dick sounded legitimately excited. This couldn’t be real.

“That would be so much fun!” Kay nearly shouted. “But,” she paused, “those are kind of expensive. I don’t know if we will be able to go.” Kay looked at Barbara with a small, yet understanding pout. 

“Uh, that’s okay! If Babs’s okay with it, you guys don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Barbara didn’t say anything, but it definitely looked like she needed to have a conversation with the Dark Knight’s Son before he winds up buying more than they can chew on. It was already becoming much with Bruce being added to the list.

Kay started bouncing up and down, “really, really?! But wait, what do you do at an escape room?”

“I’m gonna go with escaping a room,” Jay said sarcastically.

“Hey! You know what I mean,” now Kay really pouted.

Dick and Barbara chuckled, “it’s a game where you get locked in a room for about an hour and have to find the code or key to leave by following clues. I hope you guys don’t mind being locked away with me for that long,” a laugh vibrated through the phone.

“So what I'm hearing is, we just solve riddles and puzzles and are timed for it?” Jay placed a hand under his chin.

“Wow, that really does sound fun!” Kay shouted again.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Barbara could hear a smile in Dick’s voice.

Kay gasped even louder, “can we invite Uncle Tim, too!?” She bounced up to the phone, “can we please, please, please, please, pretty please with sugar on top ask Uncle Tim?” 

“Uh, yeah sure,” Dick confusedly responded. 

Barbara shook her head and closed her eyes, “already falling into her charm are you?”

“Am I?” She didn’t mean for him to hear her, but of course he did. She could picture him in his apartment leaning against his kitchen counter, smirking. She laughed to herself.

“What am I getting asked to do now?” Tim walked into the room in his pajamas and a bag of popcorn. The current Boy Wonder somehow always knows how to make it in the nick of time.

Kay ran up to him. Tim opened his arms and picked her up without dropping the popcorn, an extreme skill to have. “Uncle Tim! We’re going to an escape room!” 

“Are we?” Tim looked from Kay to Barbara confused.

“Yup,” Nightwing’s voice could still be heard over the speaker on the phone, “now it seems like we definitely have to do it.”

“Oh, so you know? Cong...”

“Tim!” Tim shifted his gaze from the phone back to the mother, “of course Dick knows what an escape room is. You don’t have to be sarcastic about it.” A silent conversation fell between Tim and Barbara. Clearly, he was trying to figure out why Barbara had stopped him and why she hadn’t told a certain someone yet. 

“Uncle Timmm,” Kay whined trying to win his attention back. Jay just stared at the two shaking his head. He walked up to Tim and grabbed Kay’s dress, trying to pull her back to him. Tim looked down at Jay and felt his sweat turn cold. Staring at him was one of the most intense batglares Tim had ever seen, and he has seen a lot. Barbara laughed again.

“Hey, Babs?”

“Hmm,” she absentmindedly replied as she watched Jay try to beat Tim in a staring contest.

“Can you take it off speaker?” That caught her attention.

“Sure.” She put the phone to her ear, “what’s up?” She heard the three start bickering as she turned around and walked towards the window to better hear the man on the other end.

“I…” he paused, trying to figure out his own words. As she waited, her eyes landed on the bright moon in the sky. She swallowed.

“Dick,” a cloud blocked the moon, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I should have come to you earlier. I’m so, so, so sorry.”

“No, Barbara. I’m sorry, I really should have been there for you. For god’s sake, I didn’t even know you were in pain right in front of me, until you were on the ground bleeding to death.”

“That’s not…” her eyes followed the cloud, “Dick, it's okay.”

“Babs, it really isn’t. You’re my best friend. I should have been there.” A silence broke out between the two, as the sky was lit again by the brilliant moon.

“Guess it's on both of us, huh,” she went to run a hand through her hair, but paused staring at it.

“Yea…” Barbara could still picture him clearly leaning against his kitchen counter, probably tossing a batarang in hand. Or maybe he had moved to the balcony. Was he staring at the moon like she was? Her hand moved to the window. The two stood in silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to go just yet. 

“So will you be joining us for the escape room?” As much as she wanted to, she knew what she had to do. The glass felt cold under her finger tips.

“Nah, I think I’ll give you guys some time to bond, though it might be hard to compete with Tim going. I’m pretty sure Kay has a crush on him.” Barbara glanced at the reflection of the trio behind her, who had started debating over something historical. “But I will definitely join for the ice cream that’s sure to come after.” 

Dick’s cheery laugh filled her head, “sounds like a plan.” A comfortable stillness fell between the duo. “So,” he cleared his throat, “what were you doing in Bludhaven today? I’m assuming it has something to do with what Tim was about to say.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but she could definitely hear a ‘chalant’ undertone.

“Oh,” Barbara’s voice grew small. She cleared her throat, “well, umm, if you’re free sometime…” The redhead was cut off by an alarm on the other side of the phone.

“Shoot,” she heard shuffling through the metal piece in her hand as Dick went to his computer to find the cause of the blaring sound. “There’s been another sighting of Ivy. Crap, okay, sorry Babs, but I gotta go. “

“No, no, it's fine. I understand.”

“We’ll finish this conversation, promise.” That was the last thing she heard before the line went out.

“Stay safe.”

Dick set down his phone after stopping the alarm and went to change. When he got back to his living room, he looked down at the files scattered all across his coffee table. It couldn’t be true. There’s no way. Right? He picked up one of the opened manila folders. Inside, he shuffled through the pages.

> _Richard Grayson_ _DNA and Blood Results_ _2012_
> 
> _ Batman’s Notes:  _
> 
> Normal check up procedure...
> 
> _Richard Grayson_ _DNA and Blood Results_ _2019_
> 
> _ Batman’s Notes:  _
> 
> Normal check up procedure...

Nightwing walked back to his computer screens. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the discrepancy between his 2012 report to his most recent one. He glanced to the left screen.

> _Barbara Gordon_ _DNA and Blood Results_ _2019_
> 
> _ Batman’s Notes:  _
> 
> Barbara Gordon attacked by an enhanced branch carrying an upgraded enzyme from five years ago. Plant drawn to her, probably from previous exposure. Patient feels drained of energy. Felt better after two full cups of water...

None of this made any sense. A commonality that had not previously existed in their bloodstream showed on his and Batgirl’s results. Dick moved his hand through his hair and let out a breath. He stared at the test tubes that lay near him, then turned to his microscope. He looked through the metal device, double checking his blood sample on the slide. Whenever he pushed the sample labeled BG close, he could see particles in his sample rush to the edge, almost as if it was reaching towards the second one. They grew aggravated as they failed to reach the partnered cells. 

“Well, that explains my stupid emotions.” Things started to slowly fall into place in his mind, but something was still missing. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

How long has the pollen been in his system? Dick fell back into his chair. Things just weren’t adding up, but a not-so-random thought crossed his mind as a voice pulled him out of his thoughts. 

“Nightwing.”

“Yeah?” His voice cracked a little, which shocked him.

“I’m in position. Where are you?”

“Right, Batman, I’m on my way.” Nightwing got up and stumbled forward.

“Dick,” Batman usually avoided using real names in the field. Of course Bruce would be able to tell if he was acting differently.

He swallowed. “Yeah?” He said again, trying to sound more sure of himself.

“What’s wrong?”

“I, uh, I was just thinking.” It was just a thought, but he couldn’t help himself. He shook his head to clear his mind, “I’m on my way.” Nightwing bolted out of his apartment window, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop smiling. But that was normal. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter <3 :D


	13. You Are the Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. So much has happened to get to this point. It looks like we are turning towards the end of the story. Don’t worry, there are a few chapters left. We’re getting there. First, we have to stop Ivy and Pyotr before they get too far. It’s been a lot. The carnival. Missions going cold. Me fainting. The team needs a break. Or maybe a slight distraction for a bit. You know, a calm before the storm.
> 
> A/N: I do not own these characters or song :)

Everything was crazy. And one way to get things out of your mind was to party. Barbara and her kids were stationed in the mission room of the mountain.

“Mom, aren’t we going to get in trouble?” Katrina asked as she spun around the giant room.

The redhead wasn’t too sure of the answer, but she knew that the mood needed to be lightened, maybe for her, but for the team as well. They all seemed to be bogged down with how the last mission went. Sure they weren’t able to figure anything out about Ivy and this new Pyotr guy, but they shouldn’t let that affect them. Besides if they let it get to them, it has a high chance of affecting their overall performance ability. Which would not be beneficial to the team or anyone. Well, maybe the bad guys.

“I’m sure it will be okay,” Barbara responded, though it didn’t sound very convincing. Kay and Jay glanced at each other before looking towards their mom again causing Barbara to sigh. “Come on guys,” Barbara swiftly moved towards her kids and grabbed their hands and twirled them. “While stress can be okay, too much is never good for a long period of time. Plus, everyone needs a break. And what better way to have a break than jamming out? It’s good to have a change of pace.” She twirled her children around again. “Computer, please play an upbeat song.”

_“Playing Music.”_

The music started slow before it blended into something with a danceable beat permeating into them.

Barbara stood in the center of the room with her children not too far. The kids looked towards the woman in the middle and smiled.

“Computer!” Kay shouted, “raise the volume please!” The music volume gradually increased with each beat. It kept going and going. The children let go of their mother and put their hands to their ears.

“It’s too loud!” Katrina tried shouting through the loud bass of the music.

“Really!” Jay shouted back. “I had no idea!” The twins glared at each other as Barbara shook her head.

“Computer, lower the volume 12 notches please.”

Jay and Kay reluctantly removed their hands from their heads as the music went down to a more enjoyable level.

"What is going on here?”

The trio turned their heads and saw Tim, Garfield, Bart, and Jaime in the doorway. Jay and Kay’s faces lit up at the sight of them. Barbara smiled at the group.

“Looks like we got some more people to join us.”

“Yay!” Kay shouted as she hopped over and grabbed Tim’s hands. She started pulling him to the center of the room, “come on Uncle Tim! Dance with me!” She struggled with each step as she tried to drag the bigger man.

“Kay.” The little girl stopped in her spot and looked at her mother waiting for her mom to say more. “Allow me.”

Tim’s eyes widened as the redhead grabbed onto him. She pulled one of his arms past her, shifting his balance forward, falling closer to her. 

“Alright Boy Wonder, let's see you use your fancy feet. I know you can do it.” She steadied the two of them, “ready?”

“I’m really not good at this.”

“You’re just saying that. First of all, I know Alfred has taught you how to ballroom dance. I was there when Dick had to learn, and secondly maneuver 32 C, without the B. And just don’t let me hit the ground.” Tim’s eyebrow went up as he moved his right leg forward, and then his left. In turn, Barbara moved her left leg back and then right, almost moving in sync. As Tim swipes his left leg out counter clockwise in a semicircle motion as if to trip someone, Barbara hooks her right ankle under his right leg, causing it to bend just slightly and making him use her leg as his support to stay somewhat up right. “See, that was a pretty good dip.”

Tim was definitely hanging and relying on the female’s hold and lead. “I just feel like I’m being used.”

She chuckled a little, “no, this is just trust. Okay, how about we start with something easier.” The two moved back to an upright position.

“I know, I know!” Katrina shouted as she ran up to the two. “Computer! Change the song to the best dance song ever!”

“The best dance song?” Jaime questioned. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best song, but if there was one song that could get everyone up, it was the _Cupid Shuffle_. 

Jay clasped his hands, “this is gonna be good. Computer, lights!” The main lights faded to a dim as colorful ones started to bounce off the walls. Colors of red, blue, yellow and green moved through the room.

_“Down, down, do your dance, do your dance_

_(We got a brand new dance)_

_Down, down, do your dance, do your dance”_

_..._

The lyrics started to fill the mountain. 

“Yes, yes, yes!” Katrina moved to the other three boys and started to push them towards the middle of the room.

“One song won’t hurt I guess,” Jaime said as he and Garfield shrugged, getting in line.

“I don’t think I know this song,” Bart tried to voice as Kay pushed him further.

“That’s okay! Just follow the words and they tell you what to do!”

Barbara laughed as the mini dance party began.

_“To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right_

“Move, hermano. Move!”

“Whoa! What do you mean move? Move my whole body right? Run across the room to the right? Just lean? Wait guys, I can’t keep up. I’ve never even danced before. Is that what we are doing?”

_To the left, to the left, to the left, to the left_

_Now kick, now kick, now, now kick”_

...

Verse after verse swirled around the group as they tried to keep up with the song. “You guys are pretty good! Now feel free to add a little more into it,” Barbara said as she grabbed Jay’s hand and spun him to the right, then back left.

“This song is pretty repetitive isn’t it?” Tim added in.

“We can go next!” Kay shouted, “computer, next, please!”

“Wait, don’t stop now, you guys are just getting into it.” The boys froze as their heads turned towards the voice. “Is this what we are doing now?” Karen put her hands on her hips. Next to her stood Cass, M’gann, Mal and Conner. She looked over at BG with a smile, “this looks like fun, come on Mal.”

“What? Karen, we really don’t-”

“Oh come on,” she turned around walking backwards, facing him, “it looks like a lot of fun. Plus, I doubt this dance will get broken into like our others did in the past.” Mal couldn’t help but agree and followed after her to the center of the floor.

The song shifted into another upbeat song. Barbara grabbed Tim’s hand, who at the moment was just standing by Kay, and twirled him to the edge of the circle, letting go. Thankfully, Cass was there to catch him. 

“Sorry, about that Cass.”

The corners of her mouth turned up, “would you like to dance with me?”

“Wha… um, yeah let’s go,” he reached for her hand and tugged her to the floor. He spun her around so swiftly and elegantly through the mini crowd.

Barbara chuckled under her breath, “I knew he knew how to dance.” She glanced at the last duo left on the side. M’gann was watching the group, laughing and clapping with the music, while Conner stood awkwardly with his arms crossed next to her, his eyes shifting around the room.

Barbara’s eyes moved back to the dance floor as Jay started walking towards M’gann who bent down to hear what he had to say. Or in this case, ask. M’gann smiled, nodded, and let Jay pull her to where everyone else was. There, Garfield was teaching the group random dance moves from the ‘shopping cart’ to the ‘robot’. Jay whispered again in M’gann’s ear, who gave him a little push into the air, where he did a few flips before landing, causing the group to cheer.

The female bat couldn't help but smile. The atmosphere in the room was bursting with joy. She glanced back at the man on the side of the circle who just happened to be watching a certain someone who was just standing next to him. Slowly, she made her way over to him. 

“If you’re going to ask me to dance, the answer is no.” 

“I was hoping you would ask me.”

“What?” He turned his head to her making her laugh.

“It’s a lot of fun, you know. You get to let loose and just enjoy the music and those around you.”

“If you’re trying to convince me to join them, you’re not doing a great job.”

“Says your hand tapping to the beat.” He closed his hand.

“It’s not tapping.”

“Sure it’s not.” 

He smirked, “how are you doing?”

The redhead raised an eyebrow as her hand subconsciously moved towards her stomach. “I’m doing better. Pretty much healed, but Bruce thinks there might be a lingering effect. I’m not too sure though, I feel pretty fine. Haven’t fainted since.”

Conner nodded along with what she was saying, “sorry, by the way.”

Now it was her turn to sharply turn her head towards him, “sorry? Uh…” She tried to think back to what this could be about, “what happened at the Carnival wasn’t any of our faults. Things just show up-”

“No, not that. I know that. I mean, I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting towards you. I think we all just feel a little guilty, I guess, for not knowing what you were going through.”

“What? You guys have nothing to feel guilty about. I was the one who chose to leave.”  
“We know, but I think we all do a little. Dick probably the most.”

“Why? That doesn’t… you guys don’t need to. It's all on me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Conner watched the group as Jaime was trying to teach them the Salsa. Garfield was surprisingly doing it really well, while Bart, on the other hand, was just moving his hips around doing who knows what. “It doesn’t have to be all on you.” He shifted his gaze to her. “It’s hard seeing someone you care for live their life without you. Even if you know they hurt you, you still want to be a part of their life. I haven’t been alive as long as you guys have, and I’m still learning about emotions and feelings, but sometimes the choices we make in life are hard. Yet, they manage to still teach and show us things we didn’t know about each other. And if we can get through those choices together, hurt and all, then wouldn’t that just make us stronger as a group?”

“I... “

“You’re thinking of leaving again, aren’t you?”

“What-?” Batgirl was shocked at how easily he was tripping her up. “I’m not sure yet. I mean if I did, it would just be the Manor. I’d keep in touch with you all. I really have missed you guys, and the kids are definitely attached.”

He nods, “And Dick?”

Air leaves her mouth, but no words follow. 

Conner doesn’t shift as he waits for her response. “Dick doesn’t live at the Manor. And he’s been really busy, barely even here. Would you leave him again, too?”

“You know, don’t you.”

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure, but it's the only thing that makes sense. Also, your kid over there just did the Flying Grayson flip, didn’t he? Literally, no one except a Grayson could pull that off.”

“You seem like you know a lot.”

“Reporter genes. I’ve seen it in real life, plus he looks just like 13 year old Dick, but younger.”

“Yeah, I thought it was pretty obvious.”

“Clark gets away with glasses, so who knows.” The redhead chuckled. “They seem like pretty good kids.”

“They really are.”

“And you raised them all on your own.”

“Well, dad was there. And Alfred every once in a while. It all worked out in the end.”

Conner opened his mouth to say more, but two little kids popped up in front of him.

“Uncle Conner! Uncle Conner! Come on! Come on! Dance with us!”

“What-?” Him being caught off guard made it easier for the kids to pull him in. Well, there’s that, and Barbara was pretty sure that he was growing a little attached to them too, letting them pull him to his doom. That may be a little dramatic. 

The redhead crossed her arms as she watched them through the colored lights. She let out a sigh and headed towards the kitchen. 

She stood in front of the cabinets and closed her eyes. She could still hear the music. The song wasn’t as upbeat as before, just a bit softer. She could feel the tension slowly leave her shoulders as a calm started to roll through her. Slowly she started to move her leg out graciously, but then paused. It’s been a while since she had done ballet, or any sort of dancing. I mean sure, she twirled her kids around if that counts, but still. She let out a steady breath as she reached for the cabinet to grab a glass. Her eyes closed as she started to fall into the past. Keeping her hand with the glass above her head, she deftly turned towards the island sink behind her.

As she moved, a hand caught her wrist in the air. Her empty hand landed on a shoulder as her eyes shot open. Staring at her were crystal blue eyes. They said no words as the music continued to play between them. Slowly, his hand moved up, gripping the cup with her. Together, they gently placed the glass on the counter. 

His left hand still held hers as his right found its way to her waist. He looked at her, reading her eyes for any hesitance or a sign for him to stop. There was none. The music seemed to be waiting for them to move before reaching the next verse. The two moved easily as one. Their movements were soft, not rough like on a night of patrol. Each little tug was inviting for her to follow. He moved her expertly around the island counter, using it to his advantage to keep her near. It was like he knew exactly where to move her. Every motion, every twist seemed thought out, yet spontaneous too. Go figure. Just like him. 

“Alfred taught me well, didn’t he.” If smiles could kill, his would have struck her down, but she would never admit to that. 

“Alfred’s still better.” She could feel his body shake with laughter. Her eyes fell closed again. “I thought you were on a mission with Bruce?”

“I was, but the lead ran cold. I decided to come by and see how my team was doing, and then I found them having a dance party. I wonder how that could have happened.”

“Yea, that would be me. I’m not even going to apologize, they needed a break.” She could feel him nod against her hair as he pulled her in close. “You too by the way.”

“Hmm?”  
“You need a break too.”

“I think you should look in the mirror.” 

She gave out a small laugh, “alright, alright. We both need a break.”

“After this mission.”

“What?” She tried to gently pull back. They were getting too close.

“After this mission, we can go take a break. We still have to have that talk you mentioned on the phone. Maybe take a vacation somewhere. The kids will love it. Are they into Disney? We could go to Disney World. I bet we could get into Club 33.”

She laughed again, a gentle sound reaching his ears, “we’ll have to see about that.” 

“We will?” His voice held a hint of uncertainty as he eased his hold on her, letting her fall back to see him.

She gazed into his eyes again. “Yea, of course.” She wanted it to be true at least.

It was hard not to see the sparkles in his irises, “sweet. Now do me a favor.” She gave him a look in response. “Please?” That’s the magic word right?”

The redhead rolled her eyes, “yes, I guess I’ll give you this favor just this one time.”

He let her hand go, “close your eyes.” As her eyes closed, his hand moved over her face to make sure they were shut. She felt the hand on her waist disappear as he took a step back, letting her other hand fall back to her side. After a minute of silence, she opened her eyes, and he was gone. A sad smile graced her lips.

She took in a deep breath and reached out for the cup again, filling it with water. After finishing the glass, she steadied herself and headed back to the commotion. 

She leaned against the wall at the entryway and watched her friends dance and have fun with her children. It was definitely a sight she will forever remember. Especially the one of Dick lifting Kay into the air, spinning her around, and Jay trying to hold back his laughter.

****BG*****

“You actually want me to go on the next mission?” The dance party had died down now. Some of the team left to get food. Apparently all the movement called for pizza. She opened her mouth to try and say something else, but couldn’t. A rush of feelings swept through her: touched, relief, hopeful, confusion, unsure, hesitance. A smile started to grace her lips, but she held it back. Could he be real?

“Yeah, I want you to go with Beta. You know what to look for and what the plants are like. It's a recon mission. I mean, I’m not going to force you. You know your limits and what you can and can’t do.”

Barbara nodded as her eyes shifted to her children who were laughing at something Tim and Cass were saying. Slowly, she let out a breath. “If you need me to go,” her eyes found his, “I’ll go.”

Dick gave her a small smile, “perfect. And don’t worry about the kids. They’ll be safe.”

“I trust the team to watch them.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“I trust you too much, Grayson. Besides, won’t you be with Alpha?” 

“Yea, but what if we get back before you? Would you trust me then to watch them?”

“I already told you I trust you too much, but if you need me to say it. Yes, Richard Grayson, I trust you to be with my children, and you better take care of them until I get back.”

“I’ll watch and protect them like a hawk. You have my word,” his hand moved to his heart. 

“Why does that sound sarcastic?” 

He laughed again, “it will be great to have you out in the field again.”

Barbara chuckled, “yea, it’s been some time. Whatever the outcome, let’s just hope it's not the same as what happened at the carnival.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll trust you can handle this. After all, it is just recon. Though, I guess we have had our fair share of those missions getting tossed around.”

The redhead smiled, “you’re telling me, Former Boy Blunder.” This time Nightwing chuckled as she smiled. 

The duo watched as Kay and Jay seemed to start a cartwheel war. 

“They remind me of us.” She didn’t respond, waiting for him to continue. “We used to be so carefree when we were younger. Even though we grew up with darkness around us, we found ways to smile.” 

She looked at him. “I’m pretty sure you were the reasons for that. You can ask Bruce or Alfred. You were the one who brought some light back into their lives, and honestly, brought so much into mine. I don’t know if I’ve ever thanked you for that. You were there for me during those dark times with mom. James. Dad. The list goes on.”

The hair on his forehead swished as he shook his head, the strands trying to catch up with the motion. “Babs, you give me too much credit. Those smiles were definitely all of you guys laughing at me. I haven’t done that much.”

“Oh, please.”

“I’m serious! I’m just me. Besides,” Dick caught a stray lock of red hair and moved it behind her ear, “I couldn’t be that way without you by my side. You were there for me too. All those times I couldn’t talk to Bruce or Alfred, I knew I would be okay. Because I could talk to you. And you get me.” His hand lingered a second longer before falling back to his side. 

“I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”

“Exactly.” His eyes seemed softer. Not harsh like when he’s on a mission, but gentle. Kind. Accepting. 

“Mommy.” Barbara broke eye contact as her son approached her. Her son, on the other hand, was walking up to her with his fists clenched and jaw a little tense. He loosened his grip on his hand as he carefully grabbed his mother’s. “Mommy, don’t you think we should head home soon.” Jay glanced at the man next to his mom, “I think we’ve spent enough time here. I’m feeling a little claustrophobic.”

“You’re feeling claustrophobic?”

The little boy paused his tugging, “yes?”

“You’ve never felt that way in the Batcave.” 

Barbara noticed Jay’s face twitch, “well, time changes things.”  
“Mmm, deep words right there. Okay, it’s getting late anyway, we can head back to the Manor.” 

“I was thinking home, home, but Grandpa’s works too.”

The redhead let out a sigh as she ruffled his hair, “don’t worry, we‘ll go home soon. Just a little longer.” Jay nodded as he yawned. “Dick,” his eyes shifted from the ground back to his best friend’s, “send me the mission details. I have a feeling Canary actually had something to do with you asking me.” 

“Ah, she spoke with you?” A sheepish smile appeared on his face.

“Oh please, you know I’m just an oracle full of knowledge.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you.” 

She gave him one last smile. “ Don’t miss me too much. Alright big guy, let's get out of here. Kay, come on, it’s getting late.” Nightwing watched as Kay ran to Barbara’s other hand shouting her goodbyes to everyone in the mountain. The trio’s echoing footsteps left the team in silence as they disappeared through the beam. Or well, it felt silent to Dick. And maybe even a little cold. He looked down at his hand, and another random thought floated by. 

  
_How small would their hands be in mine?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Earlier during the start of COVID, a thought passed my mind. I was sitting with my mom and randomly held her hand. It had been a while since I had just sat with my mom and taken in the moment. The craziest thing I noticed was how my hand felt in hers. The last time I could really remember holding her hand like that, my hand was so tiny. Like what? It’s a scary thought to think that we are all growing up and leaving those days behind, but it’s okay. As long as we are all together.
> 
> Remember to take a moment and appreciate how things are in the moment.


End file.
